


nice but not in a heart that's pure

by TopazGotTheJuice



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Minor Character Death, On Hiatus, Vampires, blood sucking, more tags to be added later, my babysitters a vampire but riverdale, some violence, spell casting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-02-23 01:40:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 65,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23003704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TopazGotTheJuice/pseuds/TopazGotTheJuice
Summary: because there in the alleyway, sitting on her knees, is toni, her fangs long and sharp, blood dripping off of them, her eyes a bright gold color. in her hands she is holding a rat, and just as she leans in for another bite, both cheryl and kevin release piercing screams of terror. she turns to look at them, blood dripping off her bottom lip, and hisses.the two best friends were frozen and all they could do was scream, until finally their brains sent signals to their feet and they took off running.“help! my babysitter’s a vampire!”-the ”my babysitter’s a vampire“ au that nobody asked for but getting anyway.-on hiatus. will be back soon.
Relationships: Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz
Comments: 69
Kudos: 162





	1. two hundred and nineteen

**Author's Note:**

> so, one day last week i was bored and was watching my babysitter's a vampire on netflix and decided to write this fic, and i have never been more excited about a work of mine.
> 
> these chapters will be kind of oneshotty, but will connect. each chapter will be based on some of the episodes from the series and this first chapter is based on the movie, hence why it's so long. 
> 
> this fic will incorporate everyone but the main focus will be on choni, of course, and don't worry, they will fall in love.
> 
> ALSO updates for this will be slow. this is my side project because i have a lil sum sum in the works coming soon.
> 
> okay i've talked enough, please enjoy! 
> 
> CHARACTER LIST:  
> sarah - toni  
> ethan - cheryl  
> benny - kevin  
> erica - fangs  
> rory - archie  
> jane - jason  
> jessie - reggie

_ the moon is full, luminous, hanging high in the sky, bright enough to light the eerie streets. lightning rips through sky, zigzagging through the ominous dark canvas that is the sky. the rain is heavy, pelting like bullets on top of the car that sat in a clearing in the woods.  _

_ "i love you," she coos from the passenger seat inside the warm car.  _

_ "i'm not human," he warns her.  _

_ "i don't care," she meant it. "bite me, i'm begging you." _

_ he smiles villainously, his fangs growing. he leans forward and attacks her neck.  _

jason's wide eyes are glued to the tv screen, as if in a trance, unable to pull away even if he wanted to. he blindly reaches for the popcorn as he slightly flinches from the screams coming from the movie. 

"look at all this! did you seriously get enough?" cheryl asks as she and her best friend kevin keller enter the dining room, and drop all of their supplies onto the table. 

“hey, this is the last day of summer vacation before we start our junior year of high school, meaning we are officially upperclassmen, so we are going to celebrate right.” the boy smiles proudly. 

“by making ice cream sundaes though? you said it yourself, we're about to be upperclassmen.”

“yes! which is why we must mark the occasion by doing what we always did as kids on the last day of summer vacation, because tomorrow my friend, we are growing up.”

the redhead rolls her eyes as her best friend since she was five pops a mini hershey kiss into his mouth. however, she didn’t oppose it. kevin was right, they were growing up so she was not about to pass up on partaking in her favorite childhood tradition one last time. 

the two of them giggled as they made their ice cream sundaes, as well as a mess on the table. kevin sprayed a dollop of whip cream on her nose causing her squeal and rub chocolate sauce on his cheek. 

jason watches the two from where he sat on the living room floor, and although he was only eight years old he rolls his eyes at the childishness. just as he turns his eyes back to the movie he hears a thumping from outside. he turns the direction of the front door as he hears it again, and again. 

“hey cheryl, do you hear that?” he calls out, but his big sister is too busy laughing at whatever kevin just said to pay attention to him. 

the thumping continues as he stands to his feet, his red teddy bear hugged up to his chest, and sneaks away to the front door. he opens it slowly and steps out before closing the door quietly, not that his sister is paying attention to him anyways. he walks down the small staircase and across the grass towards the driveway where a boy, around his sisters age, is shooting tennis balls into their garage door with a hockey stick. 

“what are you doing?” he asks. 

“what does it look like i’m doing?” the boy scoffs as he shoots another ball into their garage door. 

“trespassing,” jason answers as a matter of factly. 

“why don’t you get out of here little boy,” he shoos him away. 

“i’m gonna tell my big sister and her friend.”

“oh no, i’m so scared,” he says sarcastically before rolling his eyes. he smiles devilishly and snatches jason’s teddy bear out of his hands. he drops it to the ground and hits it with his hockey stick, sending the bear flying and smacking against the garage door. 

“hey!” jason squeals as he runs after the bear. 

the older boy laughs before he hears a growling sound. he leans against his hockey stick as his smile drops and he looks up into the sky. a shadow crosses his face and he furrows his brows, looking closer into the tree above him. in a blur he is snatched into the air and his hockey stick falls against the concrete. 

jason, having retrieved his bear, turns around to chastise the boy for launching his teddy, but a look of confusion strikes his face when he notices he’s standing in the driveway alone. 

he walks towards the abandoned hockey stick and looks up into the sky. he flinched as one of the shoes the mean boy was wearing falls from the sky and lands in front of him. his breathing gets heavier before he releases a scream, just as his parents pull into the driveway. 

his mom all but jumps out of the car before his dad can even put it in park. 

“jason! honey, what’s wrong? are you hurt?” his mother asks frantically as she runs up to him, she drops to her knees and cups his cheeks. “what are you doing outside?” 

the boy can’t answer, too shook up to form words. his mother's face hardens as she stands to her feet and shouts-

“cheryl!”

almost instantly the front door opens and cheryl and kevin walk out if the house with whipped cream and chocolate covering both of their faces. 

“oh... h-hey... you’re home early,” cheryl stammers out as kevin awkwardly waves behind her. “h-how was date night?”

her parents don’t answer, they just look at the two of them sternly, and cheryl knew she was in big trouble.

-

"a babysitter? for you?" kevin laughs as he and cheryl walk through the front doors of riverdale high. cheryl shushes him and swats his arm with the back of her hand. 

"keep it down, do you want to ruin my rep on the first day of school?" she scolds and he lifts his hands in surrender. "besides, it's not for me, it's for jason."

"well on the plus side maybe your parents will hire a cute girl that you can fall madly in love with," kevin wiggles his eyebrows. 

"negative my friend.  _ his _ name is fangs and he goes to our school."

"ah, principle weatherbee, let me give you a hand."

the two friends turn their heads at the sound of reggie mantle's voice as he walks over to their principal, chuck clayton in tow, as he was trying to hang a  _ missing teen  _ sign on the trophy case. 

reggie takes the coffee cup that weatherbee is holding out of his hands and laughs as the principal finishes hanging the sign.

"thank you reggie," he says, smoothing the last corner down and turning to face the boy.

"anything for our fearless leader," he takes a whiff of the coffee in his hands. "do you mind?" and he takes a sip before principal weatherbee can answer. 

"ah... french roast."

"french roast," principal weather repeats monotonously. 

"good choice," reggie says as he hands the cup back to him. 

"good choice," weatherbee repeats. 

and reggie and chuck walk away, turning back to spot cheryl and kevin who were watching with looks of confusion. he raises his eyebrows at them with a smile and the two awkwardly nod back. 

"what the hell was that?" kevin leans over to whisper at cheryl.

"no idea."

-

at lunch the two best friends, who had stuck together all day, we're in line, eyeing which slice of pizza they wanted. 

"this is it kev, our social lives are about to increase tenfold. we're upperclassmen now, we can finally sit in the upperclassmen section of the cafeteria."

"i know, it's exciting," he cheers as he bumps cheryl's arm. 

"hey! you guys, hey! over here!" 

cheryl and kevin stop mid laugh and roll their eyes at the sound of that familiar voice.

"uhh... archie," kevin mumbles under his breath.

"the three amigos ride again!" he yells with a goofy grin, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "any of you guys got a buck twenty eight?"

"ugh," cheryl scoffs. "i'm getting out of here before he plagues me as a los-" cheryl walks away from the line, not watching where she was going and she collides with someone, spilling the contents of her tray on the student. 

"ah! what the fuck, loser! thanks a lot!" the girl yells before stomping away, cheryl watching as her pink hair bounces with each step she takes. 

"great first day huh?" kevin laughs as he steps beside his best friend who's frozen in shock. 

-

toni topaz walks up to her usual table and drops into her seat with a frustrated huff, her nostrils flaring as she grabs a napkin and starts wiping her shirt off. 

“hey toni! there you are, i’ve been texting you. what happened to your shirt?” fangs fogarty, toni’s best friend, asks as he approaches the table and furrowed his brows at the stain on toni’s shirt. 

“don’t ask,” she sighs. 

“well guess what? i already have 200 tickets sold for the screening! only seven more days, i am so freaking excited,” the boy smiles giddily as he pushes his glasses up his nose. 

“wow, that’s amazing fangs,” toni says unenthusiastically. she and fangs have been best friends for as long as she could remember but they never shared the same love for  _ dusk _ .

“you skipped math today,” he tilts his head in question. “were you with reggie?”

“yes,” toni sighs with the tiniest of smiles.

“ugh, if i had a cute boyfriend or girlfriend i’d totally skip class too.” the boy brags and toni drops her head, giving him a pointed look. “what? i would! do you think you’re the only one who’s allowed to break the rules?”

“no but... you’re a good guy.”

“so are you.”

“i don’t know anymore,” she shakes her head and drops her eyes to the table.

“straight a’s, always nice, trust me, you are. anyways, i saved you two tickets, you and reggie are coming to the screening, right?”

“that would be a no, he doesn’t really like dusk.”

“how could you date someone who doesn’t like dusk!” he exclaims, shaking his head in disbelief and toni just rolls her eyes in response. 

-

“no way,” kevin says from where he, cheryl and archie sat in the cafeteria. 

“what?” cheryl asks. 

“that really cute girl you spilled food on is friends with that dusk fanboy.”

cheryl turned to look in the direction in which kevin was looking and saw the girl with pink hair talking to a nerdy looking boy with glasses similar to archie’s. even though she was looking at the back of her head she couldn’t help but blush at the fact that kevin said she was cute. 

“you know that’s fangs, i’d totally be into him if we wasn’t a weird dusk boy, ‘cause he’s kind of cute. maybe that’s the guy who’s babysitting you tonight.”

“jason kev, babysitting  _ jason _ . and how do you know that’s him?”

“how many boys named fangs do you know?” archie spoke up. 

“this is great, maybe you can ask him to hook you two up.”

“yeah, i’m sure she’d totally go for the loser who spilled food all over her on the first day of school.”

-

after school was over cheryl and kevin walked out of the front doors, mid conversation, when suddenly he stopped in his tracks. 

“aw, damn, looks like she already hooked up with mr. too cool for school,” kevin says as he and cheryl look in front of them where they saw the cute girl with pink hair leaning against a tree, reggie mantle standing in front of her, his hand resting on the tree next to her head, both of them wearing large sunglasses. 

they looked like they were in the middle of a heated conversation, and then she leaned off the tree and pushed past him. 

“it’s too late to turn back now,” they hear reggie say as he follows her. she walked past a car where his friends chuck, and moose were leaning up against and before she could get too far away fangs walked up to her. 

“hey toni, reggie. toni was telling me you aren’t a fan of dusk,” they hear fangs say. 

“i actually love vampires, and i was just telling toni that,” he smiles smugly. 

“whatever, i gotta go,” toni says, walking away from the group. 

“okay well, i’ll see you around?” he calls after her. 

“there’s something weird about that drama club,” cheryl says to kevin who’s eyes were locked on the dusk nerd. 

“oh, i am  _ so _ coming to your house tonight,” kevin laughs. 

“can i come?” archie says as he suddenly appears behind them. 

“no,” the two of them answer simultaneously. 

-

later that night cheryl sat at the dining room table, working on her homework as jason colored next to her. 

“must be pretty embarrassing needing a babysitter in high school,” he says nonchalantly. cheryl glares at him before rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to her textbook, just as their parents, penelope and clifford, walk into the dining room.

“alright kiddos, the sitter will be here soon and then we are heading out,” penelope says. 

“mom, you know, you were right. i learned my lesson, so you can cancel the sitter and save twenty five dollars.”

“cheryl, i already told you, i’m not going to leave you alone with jason until i know you can be trusted,” penelope says as she checks her watch then leaves the kitchen. 

“sorry sweetie, she’s the boss,” clifford offers her a smile before following his wife. 

“fine! i’ll be in my room, alone!” she announces as she packs up her textbooks and stomps up the stairs. 

-

fangs always took this path through the woods, but for some reason it seemed more... eerie... ghostly. it was colder and every noise he heard caused him to flinch. 

he was walking down a wooden staircase when he stopped in his tracks, hearing sneaky footsteps behind him. he was being followed. he slowly turned around and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw toni standing behind him. 

“toni! you scared me!” 

“i... wanted to apologize. i haven’t been the best friend lately.”

“yeah. i miss hanging out with you,” fangs sighed as the two of them walked down the staircase. “you hardly even text me anymore.”

“sorry, things are kind of... weird right now i can’t really explain-”

“no i get it. i’m not cool enough for you ever since you started dating reggie.”

“that’s not it at all, i swear.”

“then what is going on? i know you're not really into it but you were supposed to help me organize this screening, this is the biggest movie of the franchise.”

“i know but fangs... it’s just a movie.”

fangs gasps and puts his hand up to his chest in shock. “just a movie? it’s like you don’t even know me.”

“fangs-”

“i have to go. i have a babysitting job to get to,” he says and turns on his heels to walk away from her.

“fangs! okay you’re right, it is about reggie but it’s not what you think.”

just then, he who was just mentioned smoothly floated down to the ground behind her. “aw, speak of the devil,” he says, causing toni to flinch and fangs to turn around as well, wondering how he appeared seemingly out of nowhere. 

then, chuck, and two of his other friends, a tall dark haired boy and a raven haired girl, also appeared. 

“well hello,” the raven haired girl says as she stands next to fangs and eyes him from head to toe. 

“hello,” fangs responds timidly, adjusting his backpack tighter around his shoulders. 

“you’re not avoiding me? are you babe?” reggie asks as he puts his hand on toni’s elbow to turn her to face him. “come on. what are you afraid of?”

“i just... need some more time,” she says lowly and reggie sighs with an annoyed facial expression. 

“tick... tock...” he bites his lip as he tilts his head from side to side. “times up,” he grips her arm tighter. 

“anyways,” the raven haired woman speaks up. “there’s a party tonight at reggie’s and if toni is not interested maybe... you’d like to hang with us,” veronica bats her eyelashes at fangs. 

“he can’t! he’s babysitting!” toni interjects. 

“no i’m not. count me in.”

“fangs no-”

“i’m allowed to break the rules too. plus, she’s really cute,” he says, trying to give toni the hint with his eyes as the dark haired woman smiles charmingly next to him. 

“you guys go ahead, toni and i need to have a chat,” reggie shoos them away and the woman curls her arm around fangs’ arm and they leave the scene. 

“you said i could choose, reggie. you said it was up to me,” toni cries.

“it is. but, some decisions need a little push,” he scoffs as he grips both her arms in his hands. she breaks free and her palm makes contact with his cheek in a loud slap, causing his face to turn. 

reggie grips his chin and laughs. his fangs grew and protruded over his pouty lips as he turned back to look at her with that smug smile. 

“come on toni. can’t you feel it? your body knows what it wants.”

“lucky for me i think with my brain,” she scoffs and turns to walk away before he blurs in front of her, blocking her path. 

“you’re not going anywhere!”

with her new found strength she kicks him and sends him flying back. 

-

cheryl was in her bedroom on a facetime call with kevin when she suddenly heard growling and snarling noises coming from her out window. 

“the hell?” she mumbles as she walks over to look out of the open window.

“what the hell is that? it sounds like rabid dogs fighting,” kevin says from the computer screen. 

“i have no idea,” cheryl shrugs as she sits back down at her desk. 

-

“why fight it toni! you’re the one who said you liked vampires!” reggie yells as he walks towards her, his brows creased in anger. 

“i never said i wanted to be one!” she yells as she launches her foot between his legs, causing him to double over. he growls and his brown eyes turn blue.

“you shouldn’t have done that,” he growls, his voice an octave deeper sounding as if he were possessed. he grabs her by her arms and throws her, launching her into the air. 

-

cheryl had resumed her conversation with kevin when suddenly she heard a loud slam, sounding like something landed on the roof. she looks up with a mix of shock and confusion as she hears, whatever it is, roll off the roof and land on the ground. 

“what the hell was that?” kevin asked. 

“i have no clue,” just as she was about to look out her window again the doorbell rang. 

downstairs, penelope and clifford walked towards the door, sighing in relief that their sitter finally arrived so they could make it to their couples dance class. they opened the door to reveal a girl who looked somewhat startled with leaves in her hair. 

“hi uh... are you fangs? i thought... he was-” penelope questioned, her brows furrowed in confusion. she could’ve swore fangs was a boy. 

“what? uh- no uh... he’s sick so he sent me. i’m toni. can i come in, please?”

“of... course,” penelope says as she opens the door wider to allow toni to enter. “uh jason, your babysitter is here.”

the little boy hops up from where he sat on the floor in front of the tv and walks over to stand in front of toni. 

“hi, i’m jason,” he says as he sticks his hand out. 

“hi,” toni smiles as she shakes his hand. 

just then cheryl came jogging down the stairs but stopped at the halfway point, releasing a gasp as she notices who is standing in her foyer. she freezes as she looks down at the girl who is looking back up at her with a confused expression. 

“earth to cheryl,” penelope says and cheryl blinks. 

“uh... h-hello,” she forces out. 

“hey,” toni squints her eyes at the girl, trying to figure out why she looks so familiar. 

“do you like mario kart?” jason suddenly asks, pulling toni’s attention to him. 

“i’m a little rusty so i’m sure you could kick my butt,” she answers naturally. 

“great,” jason smiles as he starts to pull toni towards the living room, before penelope stops her. 

“oh wait, honey, you’re bleeding,” penelope gasps as she scans toni’s arm. 

“oh- it’s nothing, i tripped on my way here. shortcut... through the woods,” she chuckles as she pulls a leaf out of her hair. 

“you know... i’ll go get some bandages,” cheryl announces before she runs quickly back up the stairs, taking them two at a time. 

“okay, well, you kids have fun, our numbers are on the fridge and jason has to be in bed no later than 8:30. bye sweetie, by cheryl!” penelope calls out before she and clifford walk out of the house. 

meanwhile, upstairs, cheryl changes out of the leggings and oversized sweatshirt she was wearing and into a pair of distressed jeans and a black crop top. she walks into her bathroom and sprays a little body spray around her before grabbing the box of bandaids from under the sink and making her way back down the stairs. 

“i found the bandaids,” she calls out as she reaches the first level of her home. 

“and we found the fudge pops!” jason’s cheers as he runs around the corner and accidentally slams the fudge pop onto cheryl’s jeans, creating a large chocolate stain. 

“jason!” cheryl groans frustratedly and toni appears from down the hall and laughs. 

“nice! i guess now we’re even.”

cheryl laughs awkwardly and tosses the box of bandaids to toni. 

“here you go.”

“thanks, i’m toni by the way.”

“cheryl.”

just then, someone knocks loudly on the front door. 

“i got it,” cheryl walks towards the front door before toni panics. 

“no no no,” she rushes out as she grabs an umbrella and lifting it up to use as a weapon. 

however, the front door opens and kevin walks in. 

“okay, i got soda, chips, and the first season of the vampire diaries! who-” he stops mid sentence and freezes when he sees toni standing there. 

there’s an awkward silence until toni turns to face cheryl. 

“where’s your bathroom?” she asks. 

“it’s uh, down that hall and to the right,” cheryl points in that direction and toni excuses herself with a thanks. 

“girl, is that the pink-haired cutie from school?” kevin asks with a wide, toothy grin. 

“yes,” cheryl whispers in response. “i guess fangs couldn’t come so he sent her in his place.”

“sweet! this is your lucky day!”

“shh,” cheryl shushes him as they walk into the kitchen. jason was leaning up against the bathroom door as toni was talking on the phone but cheryl couldn’t make out what she was saying. 

“jason, give her some space.”

“i think she’s crying,” the young boy whispers. 

“just, go watch tv, i’m sure she’s fine.”

jason shrugged and walked away as cheryl stared at the bathroom door. just as she was about to knock the door swung open causing both her and toni to gasp. 

“looking for something?”

“n-no i- i-“ cheryl squinted her eyes as she looked into the mirror behind toni. her reflection started to disappear and cheryl just gasped and closed the bathroom door. she walked back towards kevin, her mouth parted in shock. 

“hey i was thinking about ordering a pizza do you- okay what’s up?” kevin asks, taking in the shocked expression on cheryl’s face. 

“i just saw toni. she was in front of the mirror but she wasn’t in it,” cheryl whispers loudly. 

“ha, yeah, funny.”

“i’m serious, her reflection was dissipating. she’s not normal, okay. she’s like a...”

“hey,” toni appeared from the bathroom causing both of them to snap their attention to her. “you guys don’t really need a sitter do you?”

“depends on what you mean by  _ need _ ,” kevin says, nudging cheryl’s arm with his elbow, causing her to glare at him 

“no- no, we’re fine. my mom just likes humiliating me to make a point.”

“okay good, i need to find my friend fangs, i think i he’s in trouble.”

“uh, maybe i should come with you, you know, for protection?” 

just then toni dropped her phone and the both of them bent down to pick it up. cheryls fingers brushed against toni and she gasped, but not due to the feeling of touching toni’s fingers. something was happening and she couldn’t explain what. 

her vision became very blurry until everything turned white. then she saw flashes of a tree, then a graveyard before her vision went back to normal in a flash. 

cheryl breathes heavily as her brows crease in utter confusion. 

_ what the fuck was that? _

“trust me, it’s best you stay in tonight. besides, i think i can protect myself.”

“d-did you just see that?” cheryl breathes as her eyes bounce all over the place. 

“uh... later,” toni smiles awkwardly and waves as she escorts herself out of the back door. 

when the door closed behind her cheryl stood there frozen in shock before turning to face her best friend, her mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. 

“good job. you finally get a super cute girl over here and you immediately weird her out, well done,” kevin says sarcastically as he applauds slowly. 

“i’m telling you... i just saw something... okay, she’s not normal and i’m going to find out what’s going on.”

“well i do like a good mystery,” kevin’s says as he follows cheryl to the back door. “but uh... aren’t you forgetting something?”

“yeah, what  _ are _ you forgetting?” jason says as he appears, hugging his red teddy bear to his chest. 

-

“thank you so much for coming grandma,” kevin says as he leads his grandmother in through the back door. 

“anytime dear.”

“she smells funny,” jason pouts from where he sat at the kitchen island. 

“no she doesn’t she... smells like flowers and... old people,” cheryl walks away and grabs her jacket. 

“okay grandma, i ordered a pizza, if it’s not here in 26 minutes, it’s free okay?” kevin says with all seriousness and his grandma nods in understanding. 

“okay, we will be right back,” cheryls says and the two head for the back door. 

“i hate being eight,” jason mumbles as he rests his chin on his palm. 

-

cheryl and kevin make their way down the sidewalk, the moon lighting their path more than the dingy streetlights. cheryl turns to kevin who was lagging behind as he dug into his backpack. 

“what is that?”

“a night vision camera. if toni is as supernatural as you say we need the proper equipment to capture it.”

“you are such a camera nerd,” cheryl rolls her eyes as her best friend catches up to her. 

“hello, future filmmaker here. and speaking of films, what if we’re being punked?”

“huh?”

“what if this is just some prank to kick off the dusk screening?”

“i saw what i saw kevin, now come on, she probably headed into town.”

they walked through town for about 10 minutes, looking behind cars and in every alleyway they passed but saw no sign of the pink haired girl. 

“we lost her,” kevin breaths out. 

“no. she’s out here kev, i feel it.” 

just then they hear a crash coming from behind them and they share a look before slowly making their way in that direction. they walk down an alleyway as the rustling and crashing continues.

“there’s something over there,” cheryl whispers, tapping kevin on the arm who starts recording on his camera. 

but they weren’t at all prepared for what they were about to see. 

as kevin looks through the screen of his camera he gasps, a mix of fear and disgust on his face and swallows down the bile rising in his throat. 

“kevin, what is it?”

“we should leave, we should leave right now.”

cheryl rolls her eyes and looks through the camera for herself, immediately understanding kevin’s reaction. 

because there in alleyway, sitting on her knees, is toni, her fangs long and sharp, blood dripping off of them, her eyes a bright gold color. in her hands she is holding a rat, and just as she leans in for another bite, both cheryl and kevin release piercing screams of terror. she turns to look at them, blood dripping off her bottom lip, and hisses. 

the two best friends were frozen and all they could do was scream, until finally their brains sent signals to their feet and they took off running.

“we... are so dead!” cheryl screams as she and kevin run as fast as they can. 

“speak for yourself! son of a cop speed engage!” kevin speeds past cheryl and cheryl uses all of the strength and endurance she has to keep up with him. 

“help! my babysitter’s a vampire!”

they ran and ran, as fast as they could, not even sure of where they were going, they just ran until they literally couldn’t anymore, their endurance wearing off.

“i can’t... run... anymore...” kevin breathes out. he turns to look back to make sure they weren’t followed and collides with a large flower pot, tripping and rolling over it and falling to the ground. 

cheryl stops with a loud and huff and doubles over, leaning her hands on her knees, as she desperately tries to catch her breath. 

after a few seconds she extends her hand to help kevin up to his feet. 

“you okay?” she breathes. 

“physically... yeah... mentally...”

“what’s your problem?” toni suddenly appears behind them and they both face her and scream as they clutch each other. 

“just... hold on... don’t... eat us... that would so not be cool.” cheryl says between heavy breaths. 

“if i wanted to eat you i would’ve done it by now.”

if it weren’t for the fact that kevin was terrified right now he’d be laughing at the double entendre. 

“we’re doomed!” kevin screams.

“wait, no! i just want to talk to you guys. whatever you saw, it’s not what it looks like.” 

“you’re a fucking vampire who eats animals and drinks their blood!” cheryl accuses. 

“okay, so it’s exactly what it looks like but-”

“i’m warning you,” kevin interrupts. “i had garlic bread for lunch and i’m not afraid to use it.”

toni rolls her eyes and sighs frustratedly. 

“would you both just shut up, damn! i’m just a normal girl who got bitten against her will by her stupid ex-boyfriend. i’m technically still and fledgling until i drink human blood... which... i really, really don’t want to do,” she explains and sees the two start to relax. “and i have to figure out how to stop this thing before my mortal body dies. or at least stop it from happening to more people like fangs.”

“so... you’re sure this isn’t some stupid prank for that dusk movie?” kevin asks. 

“i wish. now let’s get out of here, i’m not the only one feeding tonight. i’ll take you home and if i’m lucky i’ll find fangs before it’s too late.”

-

a black firebird pulls up a driveway and stops in front of a gold gate. fangs was sitting in the front seat, nervously twiddling his thumbs as he looks over at the dark haired girl he met just twenty minutes ago. 

she rolls her window down and presses the call button on the keypad. 

“ _ password?” _ a man's voice comes through the speaker. 

“o positive,” she says and there’s a buzzing sound as the gold gates before them open inwardly and fangs gasps in awe as they drive up a hill towards a large mansion.

-

cheryl, kevin and toni enter the house to jason eating a blow of ice cream while kevin’s grandmother was knocked out on the couch. 

“finally you’re back! can we please play now, i’m so bored,” he says as he hops off the chair and walks over to them. 

“sorry little one, but i’ve gotta go,” toni apologizes as she heads towards the back door and kevin and cheryl followed her. “just please be careful and don’t tell anyone about... you know what.”

“yeah of course,” cheryl says. 

“i’m serious. and whatever you do, don’t invite a vampire into your house. that’s the only way you’ll be safe.”

“we got it. thanks.” cheryl nods and toni leaves. cheryl looks to kevin and releases a breath, vibrating her lips together. as soon as the backdoor closes, signaling that toni is gone, the doorbell rings. 

“yes, the pizza is here and he’s late which means it’s free!” kevin claps excitedly as he walks over to the front door and opens it. “come on in my man! oh this is going to taste way better ‘cause it’s free. i am just dying for a bite.”

“so am i,” the pizza man says lowly as he opens his mouth and his fangs pop out and eyes turn yellow, smiling menacingly. he growls and both kevin and cheryl scream, while jason starts to cry and clings onto cheryl. 

“jason, it’s okay. he’s just playing a game,” cheryl says shakily, trying to calm her brother down, while pushing him to stand behind her. 

“yeah a game,” the vampire says as he steps closer to the three. “whoever tells me where toni is first gets eaten last.” 

jason screams and cheryl and kevin shake, fear on their faces. just as the man takes another step towards them, toni blurs right between them. 

“can i play too,” she says and cheryl and kevin’s faces relax as they breathe in relief. 

“reggie got tired of waiting, so he sent me to come pick you up.”

“guess you are just the delivery boy after all,” toni taunts to which he just laughs in response. 

“at least i know whose side i’m on...  _ fledgling.” _

“okay um...” kevin speaks up. “can i just grab a slice before you two you know... battle it out?”

“kevin,” cheryl slaps his arm. 

“what? if i’m gonna have a last meal, i’d like it to be the italiano deluxe,” kevin whispers as he opens up the box, giving cheryl a knowing look, who’s eyes widen in understanding. 

“oh right... the italiano deluxe... with extra garlic!” she yells and she and kevin throw the pizza on the guy. he starts to yell as his skin starts to burn and smoke up. 

“go go!” cheryl yells as she, kevin and jason run up the stairs while toni punches the delivery boy in his jaw, sending him crashing into the front door. 

when they reach cheryl’s room they close and lock the door and cheryl and kevin lean back against it, breathing heavily. 

“i don’t think she’s winning,” cheryl breathes as she listens to sounds of snarling and growling and crashing from down stairs

“of course she’s not. she’s not even a real vampire yet.”

“she’s a vampire!?” jason gasps. 

“uhhhh...” cheryl and kevin trail off as they look at each other. suddenly they hear footsteps coming from down the hall, approaching the room. 

“someone’s coming quick, push the bed,” cheryl and kevin run to the other side of the bed and push it in front of the door. they laugh in celebration just as there’s a knock from the other side.

“let me in! hurry!” toni shouts. 

“aw fuck,” kevin groans as the two of them pull the bed away, and quickly open the door to allow toni to rush inside. they shut the door just as quickly and the three of them lean against it. 

“where is he?” cheryl breathes out. 

“i shoved a fork in his head,” toni says nonchalantly and cheryl and kevin share a look, their eyes wide and kevin mouths  _ ‘holy shit’ _ . “you wouldn’t happen to have any weapons would you?”

“uhhh i have a soccer trophy from when i was ten.” cheryl grabs the trophy off her shelf and hands it to toni, who raises an eyebrow at her. “what? it’s pointy.”

“what about the rocking chair? we can tear off the legs and use them as stakes,” kevin suggests. 

“no way. that chair belonged to my grandmother,” cheryl says. “what about pencils? they’re wooden and pointy?” 

“yeah that would totally work if we’re fighting vampire squirrels,” toni rolls her eyes. 

“okay you know what, you’re a horrible babysitter.”

“whatever it’s my first time!” 

suddenly they hear growling and footsteps approaching. 

“guys hurry! he’s coming! oh shit!” toni yells just as the delivery boy reaches the room and tries to push the door open. 

just then, cheryl’s phone rings and she takes it out of her back pocket and gasps when she sees her mother's name on the screen. 

“oh shit! it’s my mom!”

“don’t answer it!” toni yells as she and kevin struggle to keep the door shut. 

“i have to,” cheryl answers the call and walks over to the far opposite side of the room. “hello?”

“ _ hi honey, it’s mom, can you put the sitter on please?” _

“uh... she wants to talk to you,” she extends the phone to toni and they switch places. 

“hello?”

“ _ hi toni, it’s me. just want to inform you that we’ll be a little late tonight. could you possibly stay for an extra hour or two?” _

“yes, of course, that’s perfect. see you then, bye,” toni rushes out and hangs up the phone, just as the delivery boy punches through cheryl's door, causing cheryl, kevin and jason to scream. 

toni stabs him in the hand with the trophy and he screams in pain and backs away from the door. as he pulls the trophy out of his hand the four of them escape through cheryl's window and climb down the tree. when they get to the ground toni informs them to run as she climbs back up the tree. 

cheryl, kevin and jason take off but they don't make it any further than the front yard as the delivery boy jumps in front of them and snarls. 

cheryl and kevin push jason behind them and back up. the delivery boy takes one step forward before toni lands behind him and stabs him in the back with a tree branch. cheryl covers jason’s eyes as she stabs him over and over until she knows for a fact that he is dead. 

“okay... she may be an awful babysitter... but that was cool as fuck!” kevin’s says in between heavy breaths. 

-

cheryl, kevin and toni walk through the house, assessing the damage; a vase smashed, silverware scattered on the floor, pictures on the wall lopsided, and pizza everywhere. 

"good luck cleaning this up before your folks get home," toni says, a hint of remorse in her voice. 

"it'll be no problem," cheryl responds even though she's not even sure herself. 

"it's amazing he can even sleep now," toni says as she looks over into the living where jason is fast asleep on the couch, kevin's grandmother setting his red teddy bear next to him. 

"yep, grandma's got the magic touch. she was the only one who could me to sleep when i was a kid," kevin says with a hint of a smile. 

"that pizza delivery guy is dead right?" cheryl asks. 

"not  _ dead _ dead, just in some kind of limbo for souls, but he won't be back here. but just... stay inside where you're safe. if i can get to reggie's before midnight maybe i can still save fangs." toni walks to the front door and opens it, turning back to look at them before exiting and shutting the door behind her. 

cheryl and kevin walk back into the kitchen and just as they sat down at the dining table kevin's phone starts ringing. he takes it out of his pocket and rolls his eyes as he reads archie's name. 

"should i even bother picking up?" he shows the phone to cheryl who shrugs. 

"why not."

kevin answers and puts it on speaker. 

" _ kevin, wassup!"  _ archie's yells into the phone. 

"what's uuuup," kevin draws out with less enthusiasm than archie. 

" _ wassuuuuup!" _

"you are lame, that's what up," cheryl says. 

" _ oh yeah? if i'm so lame then why am i chillin' at the most lit party in town?" _

"let me guess, a kiddie birthday party?" cheryl scoffs. 

" _ no, a real party at this crazy huge mansion. and almost everyone here are seniors, even the girls. this party is crazy." _

"how'd you even get in?" kevin asks. 

" _ these guys saw me at the arcade and asked if i wanted to come. oh and kevin, that dusker boy is here, and he's dancing with this really hot senior girl, i'll send you a pic." _

kevin and cheryl wait a few moments before a text message from archie comes in. he clicks on the message but when they open the image it looks like fangs is dancing alone. 

"uh, archie? these seniors aren't in the drama club are they?" cheryl asks hesitantly. 

" _ uh, yeah, some of them. oh, and guess what, there's gonna be a buffet at midnight!" _

"archie listen, you need to get-" cheryl starts before she's interrupted. 

" _ sorry, gotta go, this hot girl wants to dance with me." _

"archie wait! damn." cheryl cursed as the call ended. "kev-"

"please don't tell me we're going to crash a vampire dinner party?" he whines. 

"we have to go save him."

"ugh, fine," kevin reluctantly agrees. "but we're not walking."

once again they leave the house, figuring jason was okay with kevin's grandma and they walked outside to where kevin's grandma's red impala was parked in the driveway. kevin, having slipped the keys from his grandma's purse, slid into the driver's seat while something in the backseat caught cheryl's eye. 

"hey. what's that?"

"oh, replacement bulbs for my grandma's tanning bed." kevin explains and he sees something spark in cheryl's eyes as she admires the long bulbs. 

"hold on a sec, i have an idea."

-

as they drove down the street they caught up with toni and pulled over. 

"excuse me miss!" cheryl called out as she leaned her head out the window, grabbing the pink haired girl's attention. "could you tell us where the vampire party is?"

"what the fuck? are you two crazy," she laughs in amusement as she crosses her arms. 

"hop in," cheryl smiles. 

-

kevin pulled the car to a stop a few feet away from the gate and toni got out, leaning down to speak through the window. 

"you two stay in the car, okay?"

"what? no way, you-" cheryl says before toni interrupts her. 

"just stay, please! it's not safe. i'll be back as soon as i can with fangs and your friend."

"come on, we can-" cheryl starts again but is shut up when toni's fangs snap out and she snarls at her. "got it," she raised her hands in surrender and toni looks to kevin. 

"i uh, actually wanted to stay in the car so this is fine with me."

"good. i'll be back," toni taps the car and jogs towards the gate. 

cheryl bites her bottom lip nervously as she watches toni jump over the gate effortlessly. 

"come on. we can't let her do this alone,” cheryl says. 

"what?"

"come on kev," she says and the boy whines before they both exit the car. 

-

toni walks into the house, loud rock music playing as she makes her way towards the kitchen where she sees fangs and the dark haired girl, she thinks her name is veronica, talking. 

"well well well, look who decided to show up," veronica says as toni approaches them. "guess chic talked some sense into you?"

"oh yeah, we had a real heart to heart. actually, i need to talk to fangs... alone."

"oh so now you have time for me?"

"no it's okay sweetums. i'll go find reggie, he'll be glad to know you're here," veronica says lowly to toni before walking away. 

fangs widens his eyes at toni, silently asking what she's doing. 

"come on, you aren't safe here. we need to go, now," toni tries to pull him by his arm but he yanks it away. 

"you're overreacting toni. don't be a party pooper, it's not like i'm one to give in to peer pressure. plus, no one here is even drinking."

"not yet," toni mumbles. "look i know it sounds crazy, but a couple of weeks ago i got bit by a vampire and now i'm a fledgling."

"wow," fangs snorts. "you really expect me to believe that?"

"i swear! and if we don't get out now we won't get out, ever!"

"you sound like something from dusk."

"fine, i'll prove it," toni rolls her eyes but before she has the chance to show fangs who she has become now, she hears her name being called by the last person she wants to see.

"there she is!" reggie says as he walks up to them and puts his arm around toni. "i knew my girl would come around."

"actually we were just leaving," toni tries to grab fangs' hand again. 

"oh no no no, not so soon. you'd miss the main event. this isn't  _ just _ a party... stick around."

-

cheryl and kevin found a way to sneak in through the back, and they hop over the brick wall, behind the bushes that line the back of the pool. they walk around the backyard, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. they nod at a few people as they walk by, and bop their heads to the music as they make their way to the back doors of the large home. 

“well that was easier than i thought,” kevin chuckles, placing his hands in his jean pockets and looking around.

“alright now we need to find archie. a house this big, should be a piece of cake,” cheryl says sarcastically but then archie pops up behind them shouting-

“what’s up!”

“jeez! you scared the hell out of me,” cheryl scoffs. 

“well that was easy too. is it just me or is this entire rescue mission too easy?” kevin mumbles to cheryl. 

“guess what guys? there was this girl, she was so into me. and look, she gave me this wicked hickey.” archie pulled his shirt back to reveal two holes, that both kevin and cheryl are one hundred percent certain came from a pair of fangs, and dried blood dripping from them. 

“okay, archie, we have to go, now,” cheryl commands. 

“what? no way! this party is sick!”

kevin rolls his eyes, ignoring him and grabbing his wrist anyway. 

“okay look, we got him, let’s just go.”

“no, we can’t leave without toni.”

“do the words stay in the car ring a bell?”

cheryl ignores him and turns to look into the house, when suddenly she spots that pink head of hair, her eyes squinting as she sees her talking to reggie. 

“look, there she is,” cheryl points as reggie wraps his hand around toni’s arm and leads her away. 

“yeah, talking with mc’vampire. they look like they’re discussing something that doesn’t really concern us non-vampires, you know what i mean? so can we just go?”

cheryl bites down on her bottom lip before turning to look back into the house. 

“sorry kev, i need to know what they’re up to.”

cheryl, kevin and archie walk into the house, weaving through dancing teenagers and they pause as they see reggie taking toni up the stairs. they wait a few seconds before quietly following them. they stop at the top of the staircase and duck down so as not to be seen. 

reggie, along with toni and about ten other vampires, are standing around mumbling and they look annoyed. reggie slams his hands on the desk he is standing behind to shut them all up. 

“just be patient, alright! in a few days we will have our revenge and more! in fact, we will have this whole town!” he says and the small group cheer. “but, the prophecy can not be fulfilled until we meet our target. two hundred and nineteen. soul for soul. it will be an amazing night, like... something out of a movie. alright now! enough chit chat. we’re all hungry, the moon is full... let’s eat,” he finishes and the group cheers and applauds. 

“we have to leave, fast,” cheryl whispers and the three quickly and quietly move back down the stairs. 

-

veronica emerges from a closet, blood dripping from her fangs. she wipes her bottom lip with her thumb as she turns around to look at fangs, who stumbles out of the closet in a daze, a fresh bite mark on his neck, his glasses sitting crooked on his face. veronica stands on her toes and puts her mouth next to his ear. 

“come on, it only gets better from here,” she says in a sultry tone. the boy grins goofily as he lets veronica pull him by his hand. 

-

cheryl, kevin and archie reach the first floor and head straight for the door. however their quick getaway was ruined when they twisted the doorknob and found it locked. cheryl looks for a lock on the door but there isn’t one, just a knob. 

“fuck, it’s locked,” she whispers and the three of them head for the back door until their path is blocked by chuck, his pearly white fangs on display. 

“where do you think you’re going huh? you’re just in time for dinner,” he laughs devilishly as he crosses his arms over his chest. 

“sweet, what’s on the menu?” archie asks, as naive as ever. 

cheryl and kevin look at him and when he returns a clueless look back kevin smacks his own forehead with his palm. 

“ _ us _ archie!  _ we’re _ on the menu!” cheryl yells and it takes a couple seconds to register before archie’s jaw drops. 

“ohhh.”

“mmm!” reggie groans as he enters the living room, still clutching toni’s arm in his hand. “don’t they look delicious?”

“please, you can’t. not them,” toni pleads. “i know these kids. i’m babysitting them.”

“i’m sorry but... wait... you still need a babysitter?” reggie says as he and a few other vampires start to laugh, including fangs. 

“no i don’t!” cheryl yells in defense. 

“why do you still need a babysitter? aren’t you like 16? how lame,” chuck laughs. 

“no! she’s not babysitting me. my little brother! just because you're a vampire doesn’t mean you have to be a jackass.”

chucks laughter halts and he snarls as he charges forward, before being held back by reggie. 

“ah ah ah, in due time my friend. but we shall follow the initiation tradition,” reggie explains and looks down at toni. “fledglings drink first.”

a tall dark haired vampire grips archie by his arm and pushes him to stand directly in front of toni. 

“hear his heart pumping?” reggie says lowly. “that’s the beat of a whole new world waiting for you. one where you’ll never die, never grow old... just one bite and it’s yours.”

toni bites her bottom lip as her breathing gets heavier. she steps towards archie, drawing in a deep breath. she lifts her hand, about to reach for archie’s shirt when cheryl steps in. 

“toni no!” cheryl shouts and she grabs her wrist. she draws in a deep gasp as her vision turns white again. she hears a bell chiming and sees an old, red brick church, then she sees fire before her vision flashes back to normal. 

cheryl breathes heavily, looking at toni in confusion who looks back at her with guilt mixed with worry. 

she almost did it. on fuck she almost did it. she almost drank human blood. she needed to get out of here, now. 

“oh, i’ll do it!” fangs suddenly spoke up and he pushed toni out of the way who was grabbed by the tall vampire. fangs rubs his hands together and licks his lips as he stares at archie’s neck, his breathing getting heavier and heavier. 

“fangs no!”

“hey! there’s no need to fight over me-”

archie can barely finish his sentence before fangs grips his shoulders and charges in, digging his fangs into the base of his neck and drinking from him. after swallowing four delicious gulps, he lets archie go, who falls to the floor and laughs wickedly. 

toni elbows the boy holding her in the stomach and breaks free as he doubles over. she blurs to the first chair she sees and pulls the legs off, holding the makeshift stakes up in the air. 

“back off! i mean it!” she shouts. 

“come on toni, where can you go?” reggie asks, a smug smile on his face. 

toni holds her weapons up as cheryl and kevin stand behind her and they start backing up towards the door. 

“toni, don’t be an idiot.” reggie says, his smug look turning to annoyance and anger. 

cheryl looks behind her and suddenly gets an idea. she grabs the punch bowl and dumps the liquid on the floor before taking a lamp and smashing it in the red puddle. the three of them take off and the tall vampire runs after them, but as he steps in the punch his body shakes as bolts of electricity shock him to the ground. 

“we’re dead! we’re so dead!” kevin yells as the two of them run after toni who has already blurred to the other side of the gate. 

“what the hell toni!” kevin yells once they finally catch up to her. 

“sorry, fight or flight mode.”

the three of them jog towards the car but are stopped when chuck, veronica, and three other vampires jump in front of them and hiss. 

cheryl grabs the tanning bulbs that she and kevin stashed in the bushes before sneaking into the house. they turn on the lights that have been worked into a portable power source and use them as weapons, swinging them at the vampires who scream in pain as the ultraviolet radiation burns their skin, while toni uses her stakes to force them to back off. 

they fight their way back towards the car and miraculously make it inside the vehicle and speed away. 

“oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!” kevin yells. 

-

the following monday at school was... weird, to say the least. on friday, after rushing home and cleaning the house before cheryl’s parents came home you would think the exhaustion would kick in immediately. which, yes, she was exhausted, but after everything she saw that night; from toni eating a rat, to weird visions, to crashing a vampire party, to almost being eaten, to witnessing fangs drinking archie’s blood (which now that she thinks about it, it’s super ironic that his nickname is fangs), let’s just say it was hard for her to sleep. 

but monday morning, after staying in the house all weekend, she still picked herself out of bed, and dragged herself to school. and as she walked to school she couldn’t help but watch her back, and continued to do so throughout the day. she finally started to relax when she got through half of the day and there was no sign of the drama club. but, she still kept her eyes and ears perked for anything out of the ordinary. 

finally the day was over and she and kevin met up in the front lobby before walking out of the school. but, they both gasp and freeze in place as archie walks towards them, dressed with a little more swag than usual, and wearing large sunglasses. 

“what’s up!” he shouts!

“archie?” cheryl asks. “we thought you were dead.”

“all i know is i woke up this morning feeling awesome! my asthma is gone, i no longer need glasses, and i barely have to sleep anymore. the only problem is the sun, kind of annoying.”

“so you're a fledgling now?” kevin asks. 

“hell no! i’m a full on vampire, dude!”

“what?” cheryl exclaims. “you drank human blood?”

“they said if i didn’t i’d die,” archie shrugged. 

“do you have any idea what you’ve just done to yourself?” kevin’s rushes out, his eyes wide in disbelief. 

“i’m immortal and all powerful, man! it’s awesome!” archie cheers. kevin and cheryl continue to look at him like he was crazy, when chuck, veronica, and one other vampire appear. “sorry guys, i gotta go to church.”

“church? vampires don’t do church,” cheryl furrows her brows. 

“reggie says we have to. he’s so bossy. he’s always talking about some prophecy and how we have to find the cuban animals.”

“cuban animals?” cheryl and kevin ask at the same time. 

“what the hell are you talking about?” cheryl asks. 

“i don’t know. that’s what he said,” archie shrugged again. “anyways, we’ll hang out later,” he waves goodbye before he walks away to join the other vampires. 

before they could get too far away cheryl smacks kevin on the arm. “come on, we’re going to church,” she adjusts her backpack on her shoulders and walks away, leaving a bewildered kevin behind. 

“huh?”

-

cheryl and kevin follow the vampires, staying close enough to keep up with them but far enough to not get caught. they lead them through the woods and the best friends are extra careful to not step on any twigs to blow their cover but soon they come to a clearing where an old red brick church stands. cheryl squints her eyes, raising her hand to shade the sun, as she admires the building. she recognizes it from those flashes she had when she touched toni at the party. 

the two of them hide behind a tombstone as the group of vampires blur up the hill and stand in a circle around a grave, in front of a rusty looking angel statue. 

"hey! i have an idea, stay here i'll be right back," kevin whispers before he stands up and jogs, hunched over towards the church. he enters through the side door and walks into the sanctuary, walls lined with stained glass windows. the wood beneath him creaks with every step. and he takes a second to look around until he spots what he's looking for towards the back. 

he walks up to a large tin jug with a sign above it that says  _ holy water.  _ he grabs the pitcher that sits next to it and puts it under to water spigot and fills it up to the very top, before sneaking back out of the church and back to the tombstone cheryl is hiding behind. 

"thirsty much?" cheryl asks as kevin drops down next to her. 

"this is holy water thank you very much. thought it would be necessary, just in case." 

"well, look at them, they're digging," cheryl whispers as she nods her head in the direction of the drama club, each of them with a shovel in hand, digging. 

"heh, it's eighty degrees and they're wearing hoodies and sunglasses," kevin laughs. "nice look if you're a-"

"hey," toni suddenly appears behind them, the both of them yelping in surprise as they turn to look at her and kevin has to stifle a laugh as he takes in what toni is wearing. a hoodie and large sunglasses. 

"looking good," kevin says. 

"yeah," toni responds sarcastically. 

"what are you doing here?" cheryl asks. 

"same as you. i'm following them, trying to figure out what they're up to."

"well, according to archie they're looking for some cuban animals." kevin rolls his eyes. 

"cuban animals?" toni pauses as the cogs work in her brain and she gasps. "wait! you mean  _ cubile animus _ ? i've heard reggie mention it before, i think it's latin." 

toni leans forward in an attempt to get a closer look and when she rests her hand on cheryl's shoulder cheryl's vision goes white again. this time she sees a flash of a grave with the name  _ evelyn evernever _ and the year 1912 to 1998. then she sees some numbers disappear until all that's left is 219. then she sees a flash of a small, old, extremely detailed, chest box before her vision flashes back to normal. 

"two hundred and nineteen?" cheryl whispers. 

"okay, i just googled it.  _ cubile animus  _ is latin for nest of souls," kevin says, turning to look at cheryl whose eyebrows are still furrowed. 

"i... i think i just saw it. this little box with weird carvings on it."

"a box? like that one?" toni points over to the vampires on the hill who had just removed a box like the one cheryl just saw from the ground. 

"the  _ cubile animus,"  _ cheryl whispers. "we have to stop them."

"good thing we have a fresh supply of anti-vampire juice," kevin chuckles as he lifts the pitcher off the ground. some of the water spills over the top and lands on toni's arm. her skin sizzles and she screams out in pain. 

"ow! what the fuck!"

the vampires turn their heads towards the commotion and toni grabs cheryl and kevin and blurs away. she slows down when they reach a great distance away. 

"so... what's with these visions of yours? you get them often?" toni asks as the three of them walk down the sidewalk. 

"no. they started when you showed up. i can't explain it but i think it happens whenever we... touch," cheryl says lowly and toni looks at her confusingly but just nods in response. "so... reggie never told you about the prophecy? or what 219 means?"

"i'm just a fledgling, remember," toni sighs. "he'd only tell a real vampire."

"and none of them are dumb enough to just tell us," kevin says. 

"well... one of them is," cheryl says and kevin smirks in realization. 

"and i... have his number," kevin says as he pulls out his phone. 

-

cheryl was sitting at her desk, researching any and everything she could about vampires and more detail about the  _ cubile animus,  _ when her mom knocks on the door, and she quickly closed her laptop. 

"hey, just dropping off your laundry," she says as she walks into the room and sets the basket on the bed. 

"thanks... hey can i... ask you something?" 

"of course," penelope says as she sits down on the door of the bed. 

"do you ever... see things? like, things that aren't there?"

"are we uh... talking about drugs?" 

"no," cheryl laughs. "i mean like... visions? or flashes of images that you've never seen before?"

"no, i'm sorry honey,"

"oh okay, thanks anyway," cheryl chuckles. 

just then toni appears in the open doorway and knocks lightly on the door. 

"oh, look who's here," penelope says as toni walks into the room.

"hey, your dad let me in. i uh... brought that...  _ book _ you wanted to borrow," toni says. 

"oh... yeah, that's right."

"wow, isn't that nice," penelope nods her head with a goofy grin. "jason can not wait for you to babysit again."

"mom," cheryl warns with a tight lipped smile. 

"i guess you made quite the impression," penelope says as she turns to look at cheryl. 

"mom," she warns again. 

"okay well... i guess i'll leave you two... alone..." penelope raises her eyebrows at her daughter before making her way into the hallway. toni follows and shuts the bedroom door, giving one last awkward glance to penelope. 

"i'm sorry about her," cheryl says as toni takes a seat next to her at her desk, releasing a long sigh. "are you okay?"

"yeah i'm just... really hungry. i might head into town later for a bite."

"hmm another rat," cheryl laughs awkwardly. 

"it's disgusting i know! but, the hunger just keeps getting stronger and stronger. a fledgling has twenty eight days to drink human blood or their mortal body dies."

"wait really? are you sure?"

"i'll know in a week but it won't matter if we can't stop reggie and the others. but i found this book at the library that might help. stuff like this isn't so easily google-able" toni extends the old, worn, book to cheryl a who scoots her chair closer and takes it, reading the title on the front. 

"a history of riverdale, 1894."

toni opens the book to the page she bookmarked and reads a section out loud. 

"the town of riverdale was actually knows as black's church," 

cheryl gasps as her vision turns white again and she sees flashes of the story as toni reads. 

"black's disciples preyed upon the townspeople until the night of a lunar eclipse when an angry mob trapped them in their place of worship and burned it to the ground. two hundred and nineteen people died and their remains were buried in an unmarked grave. the next year the town was reborn as riverdale."

cheryl gasps as her vision flashes back to normal. she breaths heavily and lets go of the book. 

"was that another vision?" toni asks, slight worry on her face. 

"yeah, but it just stopped. i think there's something missing. there's more. something important. would you mind... touching me again, please."

"um... okay."

cheryl holds her hand up and toni places her hand in hers. cheryl only has a second to appreciate how soft her hand feels before she has another vision. 

she sees an old picture of a man in a black robe that looks like reggie and then sees reggie himself in the flesh. cheryl gasps and releases toni's hand. 

"so yeah, the book left out a major detail. reverend black... is reggie."

"so that's why 219 is the target!"

"and that  _ cubile animus  _ things is going to help him get it."

just then there's a knock on cheryl's window and the two of them jump in shock before walking over to see what it is. cheryl opens her window to a floating archie.

"what's up guys!" archie greets with a smile. he grabs the window seal and tries to pull himself into the house until his hands burn and he falls to the ground. "ow! what the hell?"

"you have to be invited in genius!" toni scoffs as archie floats back up to the window. 

"reggie doesn't tell us anything... so, can i come in?"

"sure," cheryl rolls her eyes and archie pulls himself into the house and falls on the floor. 

"archie, we need you to help us figure out what reggie is planning," toni says. 

"yeah. he's not a teenager. he's a cult leader from over two hundred years ago. and unless we stop him a lot of people could die, including us." cheryl adds. 

"his plan has something to do with the prophecy. maybe you could check his library?"

"we need details, and fast. and, find out what the  _ cubile animus  _ is for." cheryl finishes while archie nods in understanding. 

“ _ hey, cheryl!” _ penelope calls out and they hear her footsteps getting closer to the door. 

“okay you gotta go, she can’t see you.” cheryl says as she pushes archie towards the window. the red headed boy crawls out but falls to the ground again, still trying to get used to his flying abilities. 

toni opens the door just as penelope is about to and walks out of the room, distracting her. 

“hey, i was just leaving. you still need me to babysit this friday?”

“yes, that would be great! i-“

“okay see ya!” toni waves and heads for the stairs leaving a slightly confused penelope in the hall. she turns to look at cheryl who simply shrugs. 

-

the next day at school, toni is standing in the foyer of the school when the drama club makes a dramatic entrance. leading the pack is reggie, chuck, and fangs who looks extremely different. 

he no longer has his glasses on. instead of his usual lame graphic t-shirt and khakis combo, he’s wearing distressed jeans, black combat boots, a black shirt with the sleeves cut off, his outfit topped off with a gold chain, and toni could swear his arms look buffer and more defined. a girl walks by him and he licks his lips as he runs his fingers through his gelled up hair, as he follows her with his eyes. 

“oh hey toni, what’s wrong? you’re looking a little underfed,” he says as they come to a stop in front of her. 

“fangs, what happened to you?” toni scoffs in disbelief. 

“oh you know, just the best thing ever. it’s not too late... join us, and then we can be best friends forever,” fangs smiles for a second before immediately dropping it. 

“never,” toni states. 

“you’re making the biggest mistake of your life. i mean... what’s left of it,” reggie says and toni averts her eyes to the ground. 

“how cute. i think she still has a thing for you,” fangs chuckles. 

“actually i have something for both of you. it’s made of wood and really sharp.” toni bites back. 

“oh toni...” reggie laughs. “you’ve been replaced.” reggie wraps his hand around fangs’ neck and leans in, opening his mouth before closing his lips over fangs’ bottom lip, and pulling away with a smack. 

toni rolls her eyes at the action. 

“oh, you’re still coming to the dusk premiere though right?... bff,” fangs says sarcastically. 

toni looks between the both of them before shaking her head with a scoff and walking away. 

-

"just the girl i was looking for," kevin says as he takes a seat next to cheryl in the library. "archie just texted me this video," kevin holds his phone up to show cheryl the video. 

" _ okay, i think i found what you're looking for, check it out." _ archie turns the camera down to an open book on reggie's desk inside his library, as he reads. " _ an angels nest shall see the earth, soul for soul the black army's rebirth, beneath the swallowed moon the dead take route, the barren orchard bears the devils fruit,"  _ archie turns the camera back to his face. “ _ i'm not sure what all that means but i hope it's helpful." _ then the video ends. 

"ugh, i hate poems. they never make any sense!" kevin groans. "what angels nest?"

"shh...  _ cubile animus.  _ nest of souls. they found it by the angel statue in the cemetery, remember?"

"right. but, seed the earth?"

cheryl thinks for a few seconds. 

"the box was buried in the ground, like a seed i guess?"

"okay, and the black army?"

"easy. reverend blacks followers."

"excellent, you were always better at deciphering poems and riddles than me."

just then kevin's phone vibrates with an email notification from archie. he clicks on it to open a link, which he clicks on that takes him to a trailer for the dusk premiere. 

"why would he send me this?" kevin asks. 

"i don't know..." cheryl trails off and looks up from the screen, a poster for the dusk screening instantly catching her attention. "wait, that's it! the poem said something about a swallowed moon, right? well, tonight there's a lunar eclipse  _ and _ it's also the dusk premiere. kev, there's going to be over two hundred kids at that screening. two hundred and nineteen souls.” 

"holy shit!" kevin gasps as she places his palm on her forehead and runs it back over his hair. 

"hey, what’d i miss?" toni says as she walks up to their table. 

"the absolute worst news yet," kevin mumbles. 

"we have to go to the dusk premiere," cheryl says. 

-

that afternoon they spent a couple hours training. toni yanks a few posts off of a short wooden fence and they set up and scarecrow for cheryl and kevin to practice attacks on. 

they sneak away two of jason's nerf guns and fill the foam bullets with mini sharpened pencils. they also make a pit stop to the church and fill up kevin's old water guns with holy water. 

that evening the three of them pack all of their weapons and gear and walk downstairs into the kitchen where jason is sitting, eating a bowl of cereal. 

"okay jason, we'll be back soon." cheryl says. 

"if we don't get sucked dry first," kevin tries to joke. 

"what?" the eight year old shrieks. 

"uh- nothing! he's just kidding," toni reassures him while also backhanding kevin's arm. 

"right, totally kidding. okay anyways, see you grandma!" kevin shouts. 

"oh wait, i have something for you," kevin's grandma says as she walks up to the group. 

"no, grandma, we really gotta go. i've already eaten and we don't need any..." kevin says as his grandmother digs in her purse but is shocked when she pulls out two golden daggers. "decorative knives?"

"if you're going to be battling blood suckers you're going to need these," she says and all three of their jaws drop. 

"whoa! where'd you even get these?" kevin's gasps as cheryl takes the knives to admire them. 

"spend almost a century in this town and you start to pick up a few things," she chuckles. "oh! and this," she went back into her purse and pulled out an old looking book. "now, i've bookmarked a few spells for you kevy. but be careful, they don't always do what you want them to do when you haven't practiced."

kevin takes the book from her, his brows furrowed in utter confusion. he flips through some of the pages, his eyebrows raising in shock and question. 

"are you witch?" jason asks. 

"oh, no honey! i'm not a witch. i'm an earth priestess. very different, and way more fun," she smiles and she waves her hand over a drawing of a rabbit jason drew and the picture comes to life and dances on the page for a few seconds before going still. 

"wow!" jason gasps in awe. "kevin's grandma is awesome!"

"so... you... you're... uh... how?" kevin forces out, trying to process all of this. 

"well i wasn't going to tell you until you were ready, thought it might freak you out. but there's a reason you're drawn to the unexplained. you are a spell master. oh, and cheryl here... she's a seer, that's her path."

"hell yeah, i'm a spell master," kevin smiles as he continues flipping through the book. 

"what's a seer?" cheryl asks. 

"you've been having visions haven't you?" kevin's grandma asks but it's more like a statement. 

cheryl just hums in response, as her brain takes all this in. 

"here, take my keys. and as you go into battle please remember: evil is always at a disadvantage. earth is good and you're fighting on the right side."

"well alright. shall we?" kevin says as he clutches her keys and the three of them make their way to the front door. 

"and if you scratch my car i'll turn you into a toad!" kevin's grandma threatens and the three of them laugh nervously before walking out of the door. 

toni yanks the keys from kevin as they walk towards that shiny red impala. they throw their bags of weapons in the trunk before sliding into the vehicle, and they take off in the direction of the movie theater. 

"i think the  _ cubile animus _ works like a vacuum for souls. reggie will try to capture two hundred and nineteen souls tonight. then... i don't know, somehow trade them to bring back his followers." cheryl explains from the front seat, as kevin reads his spell book in the back seat. 

"soul for soul, it's so evil!" toni exclaims. "i can't believe my first kiss was with him," she whines. 

"he was your first kiss? but you're seventeen- i mean, you're so pretty- i- i mean, you're-"

_ shut up shut up shut up.  _

toni just chuckled in response. 

"i guess i just wanted my first kiss to be memorable."

"mission accomplished huh?" cheryl's laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck, all while kevin's tries not to laugh from the backseat. 

they pull up to the movie theater and pull into a parking space. the line to go inside is already wrapped around the building. 

"well this is it. fangs and i waited a whole year for this advanced screening," toni sighs. 

"wow, that's lame," kevin deadpans. 

"shut up and read your magic book, asshole," toni rolls her eyes, and kevin just laughs in response. 

"the bouncer looks like one of them. you think he'll recognize us?" cheryl asks. 

"we won't have to worry about it. i know another way in," toni says and the three of them exit the car. they quickly retrieve the gear from the trunk and follow toni around the theater to an alleyway. 

there's a backdoor that leads into the theater but it's chained up. cheryl tries to pull on the lock before toni places a hand on her shoulder to pull her back. 

"allow me," toni says and she yanks the chain off effortlessly and opens the door that leads into a hallway. "alright, let's get this party started!"

"hey guys," kevin says as he trails behind them, still reading his spell book. "if i'm reading this correctly, apparently there's a spell in here that just makes all the vampires vanish."

"well... perfect," cheryl says with a smile. 

"okay um...  _ fera bat sententium neophoetus!" _ kevin says the spell slowly but it makes the spell book vanish. "what the fuck!?"

"dammit kevin," cheryl rolls her eyes and she and toni shake their heads at him before walking down the hallway, and he sighs in defeat and follows them. they make their way to the backstage of the theater and break off in different directions. toni goes to hide behind the curtains as she listens to reggie talk to the other vampires sitting in the first two rows; chuck, veronica and fangs also on stage with him. 

"it's finally time, my friends. time to avenge our ancestors," reggie says.

"this is so boring. when can i get some dusker blood? i'm starving," fangs says lowly into reggie's ear. 

"patience yeah?" reggie says as he grips his shoulders. "souls first, blood later," fangs drops his shoulders with an impatient sigh but nods. "our two hundred and nineteen guests are here and their souls are ours for the taking! you know what to do, so let's go," reggie claps and the vampires sitting in the audience quickly get up. 

reggie suddenly freezes and sniffs. he turns to look over where toni is standing behind the curtain but she blurs away before she can be seen. 

meanwhile, cheryl heads to the utility room while kevin takes his post in the lobby. he orders five large tubs of popcorn with extra garlic and waits. his phone beeps in his pocket and he pulls it out to read the text message from cheryl. 

**cheryl:** _holy water is planted. plan b is ready._

when all of the students are seated in the theater, the drama club makes their way to the stage. fangs stands in front of the microphone as a spotlight hits him, and the crows claps and cheers. 

"welcome to the special fan screening of  _ dusk three! _ when you see what's in store for you tonight, well... you'll just die," he says smugly, smiling to show off his fangs, as the crowd claps again. "but first, let's not forget the door prize," fangs digs into a small black velvet bag and pulls out a ticket. "ticket number 205?"

"that's me!" a girl yells as she stands from her seat and walks up to the stage. "so what did i win?"

"what every dusker wants," reggie grips her arms and smiles sinisterly. "this," he opens his mouth as his fangs pop out and sinks them into her neck, sucking greedily from her. when he pulls away he licks the blood off his lips as the girl falls to the ground. 

everyone in the audience is watching in awe, thinking it's part of the show while toni watches from backstage and cheryl watches from the back of the theater in pure shock and terror. 

reggie holds his hand up and chuck places the  _ cubile animus _ in his hand. he opens the box and the girl's soul, a bluish, ghost-like smoke, rises from her body and is sucked into the box, and reggie snaps it closed. 

"one down, two hundred and eighteen to go," he smiles as he hands the box back to chuck. 

"fire!" cheryl suddenly yells from the back of the theater. reggie snaps his head towards her in anger, as the students start to get out of their seats and reggie quickly moves to stand in front of the microphone. 

"uh, there's no need to panic stay in your seats," reggie says but nobody listens as they start to make their way towards the exit. "okay," he snaps his fingers and all the vampires snarl and jump off the stage and begin to attack. this causes panic and students scream and start to run away. 

the vampires grab any students they can and drink from them and reggie stands on the stage holding the  _ cubile animus  _ as the souls fly into the box. 

toni goes into attack mode. she grabs two stakes out of her bag and jumps off the stage, fighting off any vampires that get in her way. 

cheryl grabs the nerf gun filled with mini stakes and runs down the aisle, dodging the scared students who run in a panic. a vampire charges toward her with a hungry look on his face and she fires the gun, sending a pencil straight into his eye. 

"ah! my eye!" he screams in pain. 

"whoops, i'm new at this," cheryl shrugs and shoots the gun again, this time the pencil landing in his chest, right over his heart and he screams as his body smokes up and dissipates. 

meanwhile in the lobby, kevin plugs in one of the tanning bulbs and turns it on, using it to fight off any vampires who charge at him. he grabs hand fulls of the popcorn he ordered and throws it at the vampires, who scream as their skin burns and sizzles up. 

"here take this!" he yells to the boy behind the counter and tosses a water gun to him. he sprays the holy water on the guy that charges towards him until he falls to the ground. "that was so hot! keep that and shoot anybody with fangs that you see!"

back in the theater, as souls are flying about, cheryl hides behind the back row of seats and throws away her now empty nerf gun. she pulls up the right leg of her jeans and takes out one of the daggers she had stuffed in her sock, and stands to her feet just as another vampire walks towards her. 

"a knife? ha! big fucking deal!" he laughs menacingly. 

"oh, it's not a knife. it's a dagger!" cheryl yells and she swipes the dagger across his chest, creating a deep cut. a bright light glows out of the cut and he screams in pain, bright lights glowing out of his eyes and mouth like a beacon. lights shoot out of his entire body until he explodes.

"damn! thank you kevin's grandma!" she gasps. she takes off down the aisle, using the dagger to cut any vampires that get in her way until her back collides into someone. 

she turns around and swings the dagger, just barely missing archie. 

"woah!" he shouts as he dodges the swing. 

"sorry!" cheryl yells. 

"uh, shouldn't you be going after reggie and his box thingy?"

"uh, kinda busy here!" cheryl yells as she uses the dagger to stab the two vampires who charge at her. she hears a piercing scream and takes the water gun she strapped to her pants and turns. archie leans back as she shoots the holy water at the vampire before he could drink from the girl. 

"cool!" archie gasps. 

"get out of here! and arch, lay off the humans."

"i'll quit, i swear. you think they make a patch for vampires."

"i don't think so, now go!" she yells and archie nods and runs past her toward the exit. cheryl looks up at the stage as reggie closes the  _ cubile animus _ and runs off the stage. 

meanwhile backstage, toni rolls on the ground and stabs the stake into the vampire that she just slammed to the ground, and his body vanishes. 

"that's no way to treat your family," toni looks up as fangs approaches her, his hands stuffed inside his jean pockets.

"this will never be my family! don't you realize how wrong this is? this is not who you're supposed to be!" toni pleads. 

"this is who i wanted to be. my whole life, i've been pushed around, bullied, laughed at... but never again... i really don't want to hurt you toni... but you leave me no choice." 

fangs balls his fist and lands a punch right to toni's side, who grunts at the impact. he grabs her wrist and flips her to the ground, but toni bounces up quick and counters the attack, slamming fangs into the ground before flipping over him. she grabs his hand and twists it behind his back, and tries to chain him up. 

"i am not giving up on you!" toni shouts. 

"hey!" veronica appears and approaches them. "let him go!"

"over my dead body!" toni growls and snarls at the girl. 

"that can be arranged," she hisses back and blurs over to toni who blurs backwards until her back collides with a wall and veronica slowly walks towards her, growling. 

fangs walks up to her and leans down to whisper in her ear. "she's all yours, honey," fangs swipes his tongue over his sharp teeth before dropping the chain toni tried to tie him up with and blurs away. 

toni tries to look brave all though her heart is beating out of her chest, she’s a hungry weakening fledgling fighting against a full fledged vampire. veronica takes another step towards her, a hungry look in her eyes. 

"stop right there!" cheryl suddenly yells and jumps in between them, holding the dagger up in defense. "i mean it!"

"oh yeah? or what?" veronica says as two other vampires blur behind her. 

"or this!" cheryl throws the dagger but veronica leans back to dodge it and watches as the dagger lands in the shoulder of one of the vampires standing behind her. her body glows and she screams before she disappears. 

veronica’s jaw drops before she turns back to face them with a look of anger. "now you're both dead."

"stand back!" cheryl shouts as she pulls a zippo lighter out of her pocket and ignites a flame. 

"this is plan b? seriously!?" toni says from behind her. 

"you know we're not actually afraid of fire right?" veronica chuckles. "you should've done some research."

cheryl chuckles back and winks before she tosses the lighter in the air. the flame passes right over a sprinkler on the ceiling and it turns on, spraying water out and raining down in the theater. 

cheryl takes her jacket off and shields toni with it. the two of them escape as the holy water takes care of the remaining vampires inside the theater. their bodies burning and smoking before they inevitably vanish, their screams echoing out all around them.

cheryl and toni meet kevin in the lobby and they escape the theater. cheryl and kevin jog towards the car while toni slows down, leaning up against a parking meter as she breathes heavily. 

"toni! come on, the eclipse starts in ten minutes. we have to find reggie!" cheryl says. 

"i can't... take the car... i'm too weak... and the hunger... is getting stronger," she whispers in between breaths before she grabs her stomach and groans. 

"no, you have to come with us. we have to stop reggie together-"

"just go!" toni shouts, her fangs popping out and her eyes turning yellow. 

cheryl hesitates, not wanting to leave toni behind but she eventually nods and she and kevin enter the car. she takes one last look at toni before pulling out of the space and speeding away. 

"okay so, reggie must've taken the nest of souls to where his followers are buried. um... where is that?" cheryl asks as she speeds down the road, unaware of where to go. 

"uh... i'm really not sure."

"the prophecy says, uh... 'the dead take route, a barren orchard bears the devils fruit.' okay uh... a barren orchard... kev, come on help me!"

"barren orchard...  _ orchard _ ... wait! orchard? the street we live on, orchard park?"

"holy shit! that tree... that tree from my visions! i know that tree! oh no... it's not possible," cheryl mumbles, she makes a u-turn in the middle of the street and speeds toward their neighborhood. less than five minutes later she pulls the car into her driveway. 

"okay, we have four minutes left to save the world,” cheryl says as she and kevin hop out of the car. "go check on jason for me please, i got reggie." 

"you sure?" 

"positive," she says strongly and kevin runs into the house while she runs into the backyard. 

she should've known. she should've known. it was in her backyard the entire time. she should've known. 

"i  _ have _ always hated this tree," she mumbles. 

"you know it's funny," reggie said as he appears from behind the tree. "they always name streets after what they tore down to build them. this used to be an orchard; one of my favorite spots until your dumbass ancestors burned my flock alive."

"yeah well their only mistake was not finishing the job," cheryl says bravely to which reggie just chuckles. 

"you made me miss my target," he says as he holds up the  _ cubile animus _ . his eyes turn blue, and his fangs glow in what's left of the moonlight. "i guess the rest of my flock will have to wait a little longer but... i still have enough souls here to resurrect a few dozen of the most powerful vampires that ever lived, and you'll have the honor of being their first meal.

"i'm not going to let you get the chance! i'm going to reunite you with your flock right now," cheryl laughs as she pulls the second dagger out of her other sock. she holds it up and swings it around tauntingly. 

reggie raises his hand and sends the dagger flying out of cheryl's hand across the yard, and he uses that same force to force cheryl down to the ground. she groans as she tries to fight it but it's no use. 

"it's funny! i knew your grandfather's grandfather. he was a loser too," reggie laughs like an evil villain when suddenly kevin appears from the other side of the house and runs towards him. before he could get to him reggie raises his hand without even looking and sends kevin flying, landing right next to cheryl. 

"sorry, i tried," kevin groans in pain. 

reggie uses his power to hold the the two of them down as he holds the  _ cubile animus _ in the air towards the orange moon, the eclipse now in full effect and the box starts to glow. 

"the hour of rebirth has come! brothers and sisters, arise!" 

the box shakes and reggie smiles as it glows brighter. but before his plan is able to come to fruition toni yells and jumps from the roof of the house, attacking him. reggie drops the box and cheryl catches it as he fights with toni. 

toni slams him against the tree using all the strength she has but reggie is far more powerful than her. he breaks free of her hold and grabs her by her neck, he blurs them around and forces her against the tree and lifts her in the air by her neck. toni kicks and tries to break free. 

"hey! i've got your friends in a box!" cheryl taunts.

"and i've got your babysitter!" she shouts back. 

"okay, she's actually jason's babysitter," kevin says as a matter of factly. 

"give me the  _ cubile animus! _ the souls must be transferred now!"

"maybe you should just give it to him,” kevin whispers. “what are we gonna do with it anyway?"

"give it to me now or she dies!" reggie yells and growls impatiently.

"cheryl no! don't do it!" toni cries.

"hey!" a tiny voice yells and cheryl snaps her head around to see jason standing on the back porch.

"jason, what are you doing!? get inside!" she yells before kevin's grandma appears behind him. 

"now jason!" she says and they speak together. " _ alma alphras alnok gatran!" _ they yell together and reggie furrows his brows before a lightning bolt strikes him. he stumbles back and lets go of toni who runs over to cheryl. 

"hey! you can have the box, but not what's inside! you wrecked their premiere! now you deal with them!" cheryl opens the box and the ghost-like souls start to fly out.

"NO NO NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" reggie yells. the souls start to fly through his body and he screams out in pain, agonizing pain. black smoke seeps out of his mouth and eyes as the souls he stole attack him from every which way, until his body dissipates and all that's left is a black smoke.

the three of them are quiet for a few moments until kevin breaks the silence. 

"i can't believe you dated that guy."

-

later that night toni and cheryl we're sitting on the couch in the living room, jason fast asleep upstairs, when penelope and clifford return home from their date. 

"oh hey, you're back. have fun?" toni greets them as they walk into the living room. 

"yes, we had an amazing night. and you? the kids didn't give you any trouble did they?" penelope asks. 

"hmm not much. it was... pretty dead," toni responds and she and cheryl share a look. 

-

monday morning, cheryl, toni and kevin, walk to the school together, and as they approach the building they see principal weatherbee being interviewed by the local news. 

"i assure you, there were no ‘ _ attacks’ _ at the movie theater this past weekend. dusk fans have very active imaginations. also, i've been told that defective 3d glasses may have caused adverse neurological side effects. however, there will not be anymore dusker events on my watch."

"faulty 3d glasses?" toni scoffs. "who's dumb enough to believe that?"

"i mean, these  _ are _ duskers we're talking about, remember?" cheryl laughs. 

"besides, the town is safe, reggie rejoined his flock, it's all good right?" kevin shrugs. 

"yep," cheryl responds. "you aren't still... dying are you? you're mortal body seems to be looking fine-  _ doing! _ i meant  _ doing _ fine," cheryl says quickly, mentally cursing herself. 

"thanks," toni chuckles. "well, kevin's grandma makes a mean human blood substitute."

"that, and she found my spell book.” kevin says.

“hey guys!” archie calls from where he was standing by a tree, along with two other vampires and fangs. 

fangs, gives a small smile and nods at toni, who gives him back the same. a lot of shit went down and fangs did kind of leave toni for dead, but that exchange was all toni needed to know that they would be cool again, eventually. 

“well, it’s pretty much all over,” cheryl says. 

“mmm, something tells me that it’s only the beginning,” toni replies with a smile.

the bell rings and the three of them walk into school, ready to take on whatever problem may come their way.


	2. part one: chapter one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is based one season one episode one: lawn of the dead.
> 
> kevin uses a potion to raise a dead dog to impress a boy, but ends up resurrecting more than he meant to.
> 
> enjoy!

it’s been two weeks since the dusk premiere, two weeks since reggie had been vanquished. two weeks since cheryl and kevin found out they were supernatural. and while the craziness has died down they were still riding the high of their new found abilities. kevin more so than cheryl. 

“it’s still so crazy!” kevin exclaims as he and cheryl walk through the front doors of riverdale high. “once we were basically invisible underclassmen, just trying to get by. but now, we’re vampire killing, spell casting rockstars.”

“you’re basically a magician and all i do is see images,” cheryl rolls her eyes as they turn down the hallway. 

“it’s still cool as hell, and speaking of images, there’s the image i need.” kevin says as he nods his head towards the end of the hallway and cheryl looks in that direction, both of them staring at a boy with dark medium length hair and blueish green eyes. even cheryl could admit he was handsome, but he looked kind of upset.

“i know you’re the _seer_ and all but i can see him with me,” kevin smiles. 

“keep the magic on the down low, okay. life just got back to normal,” cheryl mumbles, giving him a pointed look. 

“yeah yeah, i hear you,” kevin says before he makes a bouquet of flowers appear out of nowhere, and cheryl rolls her eyes as he walks toward the handsome boy. 

“hey! can i talk to you?” she hears toni’s voice and turns to watch as the pink haired girl bounces up to her. 

“of course! what’s up?”

“can i… borrow twenty dollars, please? it’s… for a good cause.”

“oh, twenty dollars? right now?” cheryl asks hesitantly. of course she’d give toni twenty in a heartbeat, but right now she’s broke. and before toni has a chance to reply, kevin is making his way back towards them. 

“awesome news! joaquin's dog died,” kevin says with a smile. 

“that’s awesome news?” toni scoffs. 

“uh yeah!” kevin nods his head as his smile gets wider. 

“whatever, i gotta go. see you later,” and as toni walks away cheryl watches her go, dropping her eyes to her backside. 

“he said he loves my flowers,” kevin says, causing cheryl to snap her eyes up to him, hoping he didn’t notice her checking toni out. “and he said he’d do anything to bring his dog back. _anything!”_

“okay?”

“what if… someone magically brought his dog back?” kevin wiggles his eyebrows with a smirk. 

“no! kevin no! you cannot bring his dead dog back to life!” she exclaims in a hushed tone. 

“won’t know until we try right?” kevin pats her shoulder with a wink and walks away. 

“kevin, stop! ugh! you are such a dumbass!” she shouts after him. 

-

later that evening cheryl was in her room at her desk, working on her homework when kevin burst through the door. 

“ugh! freaking grandma!” he groans. 

“uh, hello to you too. what are you whining about now?” cheryl asks as kevin’s walks up and plops down in the seat next to her. 

“i asked my grandma if there was a spell to bring a dead animal back to life, said it was for a school project, and she wouldn’t tell me, can you believe that?”

“uh yeah. you’re grandma is old but she’s not dumb. anyway maybe you should just conjure up a necklace or a watch or something for this boy. i mean… reanimating a dog is kind of… overkill.”

“no it’s under kill,” kevin says and cheryl squints her eyes in confusion. “‘cause the dog would be un-killed. duh.”

“oh my God, why am i friends with you?” cheryl rolls her eyes and rubs her temples with her fingers. “you don’t even know how to do it.”

“no… but i do know where to find the answers: grandma's secret shelf.”

“secret shelf?”

“yeah, it’s where she keeps all her magic shit.”

“this is gonna end badly,” cheryl mumbles just as there’s a knock on her door, and penelope walks in. 

“hey guys, cheryl, dinner is ready.”

“okay, i’ll be right down.”

“oh and don’t forget your father has a very important client over for dinner this friday, so tell toni i won’t need her to babysit.”

“okay, i’m sure she’ll be glad to have a friday night off.” cheryl said with a smile, even though part of her wishes toni did have to babysit just so she could spend more time with her. 

-

“what!? so now i can’t even get babysitting money? great! just great!” toni yells into the phone as she walks down the sidewalk, talking to cheryl, sporting her favorite aviator sunglasses.

“ _why do you need money all of a sudden?”_

“forget it. i still have some other options. see you later,” toni sighs as she hangs up the phone. 

“so, how’s your little girlfriend,” fangs says as he suddenly appears behind toni, black ray ban sunglasses covering his eyes. 

he and toni haven’t fully repaired their friendship back to one hundred percent, but they were getting there. they weren’t _the bestest of friends,_ but they were _friends_ again so it was a start. 

“she’s not my girlfriend,” toni chuckles. “but, look the reason i wanted to talk to you is that-”

“ah, you changed your mind about flying down to the city this weekend?” 

“fangs, you know fledglings can’t fly. not for free. which is why i need to ask you… can i borrow some money? i swear i’ll pay you back.”

“money? if you would just wake up and smell the platelets then you can take whatever and whoever you want.”

“i understand but… i just thought-”

“ah ah,” the boy interrupts as he snaps his fangs out. “in fangs we trust. all others pay cash,” he smiles then snaps his head up as two large guys wearing lettermans jackets appear from a block away. “ah! my food’s here. call me when you’re… ready.” he pats her shoulder and growls quietly as he walks towards the boys. and toni just sighs as she watches him walk away. 

-

kevin rolls his bike to a stop in front of cheryl's house and the redhead hops up from where she sat on the porch and meets him down at the sidewalk. the sun was starting to set casting an orange hue over the town.

“hey, i got your text. what’s up?”

“i took these from grandma’s secret shelf,” kevin whispers as he takes out three tiny jars from his backpack.

“and how do you know which vial has the potion to bring a dead dog back?” cheryl crosses her arms with a raised eyebrow. 

“well i thought you’d help me out? seer?” kevin says with a sweet smile and a shrug and cheryl scoffs as she rolls her eyes in response. “come on cher, pleaseeee.” he begs, poking his bottom lip out. cheryl rolls her head back and groans. 

“alright, give me the damn vials.” she says as she snatches them from kevin’s hands. 

she breathes in heavily and closes her eyes, focusing on the source of her power. her eyes snap open and she gasps as her vision turns white. she sees a flash of a hawk, a hand with abnormally long fingernails, and a hand emerging from soil, before her vision flashes to normal.

“okay this one… i saw a hawk?” she says as she hands him the vial with a blue substance inside. “this one makes your fingernails really long i guess?” she hands him the vial with the dark red substance. “but this one,” she holds up the vial that has a gold, glittery liquid inside. “this is the one. but-” before she has a chance to continue kevin cuts her off as he snatches the vial from her. 

“sweet! joaquin’s dead dog thanks you. now wish me luck,” kevin salutes as she stands up on his bike pedals and starts to pedal away. 

“kevin wait! ugh, dammit,” cheryl raises her lips as she watches him ride away. 

“boo!” archie tells as he floats down next to her and she nearly jumps out of her skin. 

“fuck! stop doing that!”

“sorry!” archie laughs.

“whatever, look, kevin went to joaquin’s house and i have no idea where he lives. do you?”

“no... but i know how we can find out. air archie!” 

before she has time to ask him what he means, archie, who she’s noticed has gotten a lot more muscular, not that she’s even into that, just noticed, grabs her from behind and he flies into the air. 

-

the sun has set and the sky was black, giving kevin the perfect cover to sneak around joaquin's backyard in search of a doggy grave. he finds a small wooden sign in front of a tree that reads _‘beloved rufus. in loving memory’,_ and an elevated area of soil. 

“ah, found ya,” kevin chuckles in success as he removes the vial from his pocket. he unscrews the cap and pours half of the potion over the small grave and it starts to glitter and glow brightly as it soaks into the soil. 

“aah!” cheryl yells as she falls onto the ground right next to kevin, where archie dropped her.

“oh shit! cheryl. don’t sneak up on a man while he’s raising the dead.”

“whatever. look, come on before you do something stupid.” cheryl says as she pulls on his arm. 

“too late. already did it. but nothing happened. maybe i-”

“boo!” archie yells as he lands right behind them, both of them yelling and flinching. 

“fuck! archie, i don’t care how undead you are… do that again and i’ll kill you.” kevin says through clenched teeth. 

“ha, if you can catch me, mortal.” he taunts back before blurring away, and kevin just rolls his eyes. 

“anyways… the potion had no effect. maybe your vision was wrong.”

“my visions are never wrong.” cheryl scoffs. “but your grandma was right. you shouldn’t be messing with the forces of life and death,” cheryl pats his arm and kevin sighs as they stand up.

“yeah, you’re probably right.” 

but as the two start to walk away they hear a muffled whimpering sound. 

“did you hear that?” kevin says and they both share a look of confusion before turning back to look at the grave. both of their jaws drop as they hear the whimpering continue and see something moving in the soil.

“oh my God, rufus!” kevin exclaims as they run back to the grave and fall to their knees. they dig into the soil until they reveal joaquins once deceased dog, laying on his back and whimpering. “hear that? that’s the sweet sound of kevin scoring a date with joaquin.”

“okay, you did it. he’s alive. now let’s get out of here before someone sees us,” cheryl whispers. 

kevin quickly removes the blanket he stuffed in his backpack and wraps it around the dog. he lifts him up and the two of them run out of the backyard. 

-

“hey cheryl? can we put rufus in your garage until the morning?” kevin asks as the two of them walk down the sidewalk. 

“uh uh, no way. you rose him from the dead, he’s your responsibility.”

“come on cheryl, please. if my grandma finds him she’ll know i stole her potion.”

“yeah and what if _my_ parents find him.”

“you’ll think of something. you’re a way better liar than me.”

cheryl rolls her eyes and groans, something she’s found herself doing a lot since kevin discovered his spell casting abilities.

“okay fine, but promise me you will never raise anything else from the grave, ever.”

“i swear, cheryl i will _never_ raise anything from the grave again.” he promises as he raises his right hand in the air. then he hands the dog over to cheryl. 

meanwhile, back in joaquin’s backyard, their automatic sprinklers turn on and the potion kevin poured over the grave glows as it seeps further into the ground and spreads. 

-

the next morning, cheryl wakes up a little earlier than usual and sneaks down to the garage to check on rufus. but when she opens the door she gasps loudly as she sees the dog, sitting on the makeshift bed she made for him, growling, his eyes glowing red. cheryl curses and immediately closes the door. 

the walks back up to her bedroom and grabs her phone to call kevin. it rings three times before he answers. 

“kevin, there’s something wrong with rufus!”

“ _what do you mean?”_

“i mean, his eyes were red kev, and he was growling.”

“ _maybe it’s a side effect of the potion and maybe he just realized he’s somewhere unfamiliar. i’m sure it will be fine once we reunite him with joaquin.”_

“if you say so.”

-

rufus did not get any better. if anything he got worse. kevin walked over to cheryl’s house with a dog carrier and it was extremely hard to put rufus inside of it. he growled and snapped at the two them as they tried to put him in there, but they got him inside and closed it up, without losing any fingers. 

but now as they walk to school his growling only gets louder and the carrier shakes as if he’s trying to escape. 

“i’m telling you kevin, i don’t feel so good about this. that dog isn’t just undead. that thing is evil.”

“it’s fine cheryl. he’s just trapped and misses joaquin,” kevin says as they approach the school and walk through the front doors. “and look, there he is now. when he sees this dog he’ll be so grateful, and then i’ll lay my charm on him and then boom, boyfriend.”

“you’re an idiot,” cheryl mumbles. she knew this was a bad idea and figured kevin would just have to learn the hard way. “but by all means, go ahead, reunite him with his sweet furry friend.”

“wish me luck,” kevin smiles as he walks over to where joaquin is standing. 

“so tell me,” toni says as she walks up and stops beside cheryl. “what are you and dumber you up to this time?”

“what?”

“what did kevin do now? i know his work when i see it. i was on my way to school just now and was attacked by a rabid squirrel with _red_ eyes.”

“oh you know… dumbass kevin reuniting a boy with his dog to try and score a date.” 

just then they hear joaquin yelp and they turn towards the commotion and see rufus, growling and barking as he tries to attack joaquin before he runs away and the dog chases him, and kevin chases after them, taking a pit stop by cheryl and toni. 

“aw, he didn’t even say thank you… aw man,” kevin stomps his foot and runs down the hallway after joaquin. 

toni gives cheryl a look before she shrugs in response. 

“hey i tried to stop him but he didn’t listen,” she says as a matter of factly as they start walking down the hallway. 

“hey!” archie greets as he approaches them, waving his hand and he has two bandages around his pointer and middle finger. 

“what happened to you?” cheryl asks. 

“weirdest thing. last night i went out for a crunchy critter snack, and this time the snack bit back. i think it was possessed.” 

“you don’t need bandages doofus. vampires can heal themselves,” toni says with an annoyed expression. 

archie looks at her dumbfoundedly before pulling his bandages off his fingers and his eyebrows raise and jaw drops when he notices his fingers look completely normal despite his bloody bandages. 

“woah! fingers grow back fast!” he exclaims and toni rolls her eyes. 

“anyways... did kevin do what i think he did?” toni says as she glares at cheryl. 

“raise dead animals from the grave to get a guys attention? yeah.”

“unbelievable,” toni scoffs and walks away just as joaquin screams out-

“kevin! get him off of me!” joaquin yells as he tries to kick his dog, who has sunk his teeth into his leg, off of him. joaquin swings his leg against the locker to knock rufus off and he sprints down the hallway.

this causes a panic as other students start to scream and run in terror. and cheryl and archie watch in shock as an announcement comes over the intercom. 

_“due to recent outbreaks of rabid animal attacks, classes have been canceled for the day. please return to your homes and stay indoors. thank you.”_

-

cheryl and kevin burst through cheryl’s front door and slam the door shut. they lean back against the door with a huff, breathing heavily, seeing as they just ran all the way home from school, almost getting attacked by a squirrel, a chipmunk and a skunk on the way. 

“whew… we made it.” cheryl breathes. 

“is it me or did that chipmunk look like he wanted to eat our eyeballs out.” 

“i think it’s time to call in some magical backup,” cheryl huffs as she pushes herself off the door and makes her way into the living room. 

“what!? no! if grandma finds out she’ll turn me into a toad, i know she will! listen if the potion did cause this then… maybe it’ll just… run out of gas.”

“sure, because all of your theories have been correct lately,” cheryl says sarcastically as the both of them drop down onto the couch. 

“i’m sure the worst is over.” kevin says as cheryl grabs the remote and turns on the tv, already on the news station. 

“ _this just in. all over riverdale reports are coming in from bizzare small animal attacks-“_ the reporter doesn’t have a chance to continue as a hamster jumps up and bites his ear. 

“oh my God! that’s sugar!”

“no way! your hamster!? but your parents said he ran away when you were eight!”

“that’s it. we need to talk to your grandma, now!” cheryl says firmly. 

“or maybe we could just… send her an email?” kevin shrugs just as they hear the front door slam and they turn and scream when they see kevin’s grandma standing there holding the half empty vial of the gold, glittery potion. “ah! aha- um- i mean hi grandma.” kevin says with a charming smile.

“something you wanna tell me?” she says with a knowing look as she shakes the small bottle in her hand.

-

“first things first, we brew enough anti-potion to douse all those demon critters you created,” kevin’s grandma explains as she stirs a pot, cooking in her magic room. 

“i just spilled a few drops where the dog was buried.” kevin whines. 

“a few drops is too much!” she responds, giving the boy a light smack on the back of his head. 

“why are they so evil?” cheryl asks. 

“you reanimated the bodies but the souls have already moved on. and a body with no souls is a demon’s playground.” kevin’s grandma explains. 

“even if the brew works how are we supposed to track down all the demon animals?” cheryl asks. 

“with this,” she says as she sets hands the spoon to kevin to continue stirring. she walks over to her shelf and grabs a wooden recorder with carvings on it. “once the demons hear this enchanted flute they’ll come running, so you better be ready.”

“don’t worry grandma. i got this!” kevin cheers as he grabs the flute and stands from the chair. 

“not you einstein,” his grandma snaps as she snatches the flute from him. “you’re staying here to help me with the brew. cheryl can do it. start where you spilled the potion and then work your way back here.”

“but wait, tonight’s my dads dinner with his new client. i can't miss it.”

“if he can’t do it, and i can’t do it, then who’s gonna play the flute?”

“what’s your little redhead friend up to?”

“she’s absolutely right,” cheryl smiles. “this sounds like a job for archie.”

-

later than evening, cheryl was smoothing down her slim black pencil skirt as she walked into the kitchen, heels clacking on the hardwood floor. she stopped in her tracks when she saw toni in her kitchen, pulling a tray of hors d’oeuvres out of the fridge. 

she checked her out starting from the ground up. taking in her black heels, carmel legs covered in fishnet stockings, the short grey skirt and her white button up. her hair was pulled up into a half up half down style and her loose pink curls hung down her back. she was looking at her from behind but she looked gorgeous. and when she turned around she had to force herself not to drop her eyes down to her chest, as she could see the top few buttons undone from her peripheral vision. 

“t-toni! what are you doing here?”

“your mom called me in a panic and she offered double my babysitting rate to help her with this dinner,” she smiled. cheryl noticed her eyes scan her body and a shiver went down her spine. “you clean up nice,” she says simply. 

“oh, thanks,” cheryl says as she curls a piece of hair behind her ear. “so- so do you,” cheryl chuckles as toni smiles at her. 

but their small moment was interrupted as kevin ran through the back door holding two large water guns, and more smaller guns stuffed in his backpack.

“alright! we are fully stocked on anti-potion. and archie is on his way.”

“uh- good,” cheryl says after clearing her throat. “when he leads the critters back we’ll take position in the backyard.”

“excellent. by the way, love the look, trying to uh… impress someone?” kevin whispers to cheryl with a smirk and wiggles his eyebrows. 

“shut up, i didn’t even know she was going to be here,” cheryl smacks him on the arm. 

“cheryl,” penelope calls as she walks into the kitchen. “i need you to come meet our guests. toni would you mind bringing the hors d’oeuvres now?”

“yes ma’am!” toni sings as she lifts the plate and follows them to the dining room. 

“everyone, this is our daughter, cheryl,” penelope introduces and cheryl gasps when she notices who’s at the table. 

“uh… joaquin and i have met… kinda. we go to the same school,” cheryl smiles awkwardly as she takes a seat at the table next to her little brother. 

and just as she sits down she hears the musical stylings of archie, playing the enchanted flute.

“uh… what is that?” clifford asks as he looks around.

“oh uh… just a little dinner music,” cheryl answers quickly as toni appears, holding a basket of rolls.

she leans down to whisper into cheryl’s ear. 

“archie is here and he looks happy about something. and you know archie, that’s never good.”

“excuse me for a moment,” cheryl smiles politely and excuses herself from the table and walks into the kitchen. “archie what did you do? how come i can still hear the music?”

“i had an idea! instead of playing the flute for however long i figured i could just record it and play it on a loop! no flute required!” he says as he hands the flute to kevin who asks-

“so where’s the player?”

“i uh… well see what happened was, i was landing on your roof to come look for you two but there was this psycho squirrel so i may have dropped it down your chimney.”

“archie, are you serious?”

“what the hell!”

the two best friends say at the same time to which the boy just shrugs. 

“great, so now that music is in the house. do you know what this means?”

before anybody can answer they hear joaquin scream. 

“joaquin are you okay?” joaquin's father asks. 

“i felt something run across my foot.”

toni sneakily leans down as traps the animal between a large bowl and a plate. 

“your next course will be right out,” she says nonchalantly as she heads out of the dining room back into the kitchen.

meanwhile, cheryl jogs into the living room and squats down as she digs into the fireplace to find the recording. once she grabs it she quickly runs back into the kitchen. 

“okay, we have to keep it dow- holy shit!” cheryl gasps and she enters the kitchen and there are demon animals everywhere. she stands there shocked for a few seconds as she watches kevin, archie and toni shoot as many as they can with the anti-potion. 

one of the animals jump on toni and she quickly grabs it before it has a chance to bite her and she throws it. it lands at cheryl’s feet and she shoots it with the anti-potion, watching it disintegrate, then she kicks it into high gear. 

“oh, this is so not good,” cheryl says as she shoots a skunk. 

“what do you mean? this is awesome?” archie laughs before he does a dramatic tumble roll and grabs a rat with his bare hands. he squeezes it until it stops wiggling and sniffs it. 

“ah! they’re better fresh,” archie says before he sinks his fangs into the rat and drinks from it. 

cheryl swallows the bile in her throat and her face scrunches up in disgust before she walks away from him, just as she hears her dad call for her. she runs over to the doorway just before he walks into the kitchen and she blocks his path. 

“hey dad!” she laughs nervously. 

“hey, everything okay? i thought i heard a loud bang.” he tries to walk forward but she quickly blocks his path again. 

“hey wait! now that our guests have settled in, i think it’s time to wow them with your new sales pitch.”

“huh, you really think?”

“yeah dad. go for it,” she pats him on the back and he nods and smiles before walking back into the dining room. cheryl breathes in relief before turning back into the kitchen. 

her jaw drops when she sees a rabid bunny in kevin’s back. she grabs a pan and smacks it off of his back before spraying it with the anti-potion. 

“whew, thanks,” he breaths. 

“don’t mention it, seriously,” she chuckles. “now, i told my mom i was getting parmesan.” 

cheryl walks over to the cabinet next to the refrigerator. but, when she opens the door, there sitting on the shelf is rufus, teeth showing, eyes glowing red, and growling. 

“rufus!” she yells just as the dog latches onto her arm.

“cheryl!” toni yells. 

cheryl wiggles her arm to try and get him off of her. she slams him against the counter over and over but he still won’t let go. she swings the dog around, knocking dishes on the floor when finally toni gets a hold of him and they hold him up against the cabinet. 

“say goodbye rufus!” kevin says before he shoots the dog with the anti-potion and he disintegrates. 

the four of them release simultaneous sighs of relief. kevin rubs his forehead with his hand while toni slumps against the counter. 

“well… that was crazy huh?” toni breaths out. and cheryl chuckles as she nods in agreement.

suddenly penelope walks into the kitchen and freezes when she sees the mess.

“cheryl! you better have a good explanation for this,” she scolds and cheryl just smiles awkwardly. 

-

about 30 minutes later, after kevin and archie left, cheryl and toni were cleaning up the last of the mess in the kitchen.

“crazy day huh?” cheryl says as she and toni wipe off the counter.

“you can say that again.”

just then there was a tapping on the back door. 

“ugh that’s probably kevin. he forgot one of his water guns,” cheryl grabs the small water gun that was sitting on the counter and walks to the backdoor. but when she opens it, instead of kevin it’s a small hamster that she recognizes immediately. 

“ah, sugar, my old friend. i knew you’d show up last.” cheryl says as she points the water gun at the animal. 

“take the shot already! he’s evil, get him!” toni yells from behind her.

but cheryl hesitates as she looks at his fluffy frame and stares into his evil eyes. 

“i can’t!” she cries and lowers the gun. suddenly the small animal hisses as he jumps and cheryl grabs him before he can bite her and she falls to the floor. 

“fine, i’ll do it,” toni grunts as she picks up the dropped gun and shoots the final animal with the anti-potion. 

“heh, thanks,” cheryl says as toni extends a hand and helps her up to her feet. as cheryl stands she finds herself staring at toni and toni is staring back, and they smile at each other. toni chuckles and curls her hair behind her ear. 

“we should probably finish cleaning.”

“yeah- yeah,” cheryl responds quickly and they go back to finish cleaning. but every so often cheryl finds herself looking up to stare at toni for a couple seconds. 

-

“i should’ve known sugar never ran away,” cheryl mumbles as she and kevin walk down the sidewalk the next day. “my parents told me when he died he was buried in a field behind joaquin’s place. speaking of, have you talked to joaquin?”

“uh... our courtship is on hold for the time being. next time i’m taking your advice and conjuring up a watch.”

“good call,” cheryl says as she pats his back. 

suddenly the hear a car horn and look up as toni pulls to a stop across the street in an old fashioned, shiny black and red impala. 

“get in losers! we’re going shopping!” she shouts with a laugh and the two cross the street walk up to the car. “i just got my license and my aunt gave me her old car. the hard part was saving up for insurance which is why i needed money so bad, but your dad gave me a great deal.”

“yeah. he’s the best,” cheryl smiles. “lookin’ good by the way.” she really meant toni, but could easily pass it off as a compliment to the car, which is how toni took it anyway.

“thanks. she kept it in good condition for me.”

“boo!” archie suddenly yells as he blurs into the back seat of toni’s car, and all three of them yelp in surprise. 

“ah! fuck archie this has to stop!” cheryl yells and the redhead boy just laughs in response. 

“archie, get the fuck out of my car!” toni scolds him. 

“wooooo,” he makes a ghostly sound before blurring away. 

“anyways,” toni rolls her eyes. “i was serious about going to the mall. hop in.”

and the two of them smile as kevin takes the back seat while cheryl slides into the front seat. she and toni smile at each other again before toni puts the car in gear and takes off down the street.   
  



	3. part one: chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is based on season one episode four: blue moon
> 
> cheryl and kevin are befriended by a guy at school but cheryl thinks there’s something unusual about him.

it was an ordinary day. well it was never really an ordinary day any more, but a day like every other. cheryl and kevin start their day walking to school together, as they do everyday. except, this time as they reach the school grounds they are approached by a tall boy with medium length, curly hair, a nicely shaped beard, sporting a letterman’s jacket. they know him as malachi, the captain of the football team and track star, which is why cheryl and kevin are confused as to why he is walking up to them with a smile on his face. 

“good morning! how are you two doing this fine morning?” he says as he stops in front of them. 

“um… good?” cheryl answers confusingly. 

“and you?” kevin asks just as awkwardly as cheryl. 

“i’m doing great. so listen, from now on we’re friends okay! consider me your new best pal,” he winks before walking away, leaving behind a bewildered cheryl and kevin. 

“well that was… cool i guess?” kevin says as the two watch as malachi catches up with his friends. they see a small freshman walk by and malachi growls at the kid.

“mmm… something isn’t sitting right with me about that guy. we have never exchanged a single word with that guy in the three years we’ve been here. and all of a sudden he wants to be our _best pals?”_

“cheryl, he’s popular and cute. don’t overthink it.”

-

a couple days later, during their free period, cheryl was standing in front of the vending machine, tapping at the glass, groaning about how the machine ate her dollar when toni walks up. she chuckles and smacks the glass, causing a lot of the candy bars to fall out. 

“one of your fledgling powers?” cheryl asks as she bends down to grab the kitkat bar. 

“not a power… just a perk… so, where’s your new jock bff? i saw you and kevin with malachi.” toni says as the two of them sit on the couch in the student lounge. 

“ha. ha. something’s weird. it’s like the lions are hanging with the zebras. like, last night, he just showed up at my house and walked in like we’ve been friends for years.” cheryl says and toni just looks at her quizzically before kevin walks up to them and sits down in the chair. 

“guess who has two thumbs, three free candy bars, and is best friends with malachi? this guy!” kevin points at himself with his thumbs. 

“i uh, i see what you mean.” toni chuckles. 

“oh it gets worse. last night he was just eating food out of my fridge and when my parents got home and asked who he was, he told them all about how we’re _best friends,”_ cheryl scoffs, making air quotes with her fingers. 

“so he eats your food? not enough to ruin a new… _blossoming_ friendship,” toni chuckles as she pinches cheryl’s cheeks. 

“there’s more. he… howls,” cheryl says just as malachi enters the student lounge and walks up to the vending machine. 

“sweet! free candy bar! OW OWWWW!” he howls.

“a lot of guys howl,” kevin says as he chews on his snickers bar. “it’s a… jock thing.”

“i can't be the only one who’s also noticed how hairy he is. i mean, the thick full grown beard. his arms? his back? his chest hair?” cheryl says, her face scrunching up in disgust. 

“so he’s hairy, a lot of guys are hairy.”

“if they’re hairy like _that_ then i am so glad i’m a lesbian. but it’s basic math. howling plus the hair plus _this town_ , equals…”

“awesome?” kevin interrupts.

“werewolf.” 

“werewolf… hmm it’s a possibility.”

“come on cheryl, not everything is supernatural,” toni interjects.

“we’re going to prove he’s a werewolf, then figure out what he wants.”

“i’ve got better things to do than stalk annoying jocks,” toni says as she stands up from the couch and heads towards the exit.

“oh yeah? like what?” kevin asks. 

“soccer tryouts,” she looks back before leaving the student lounge and walking down the hallway. 

cheryl and kevin share a glance. 

“i think she was serious,” cheryl says with squinted eyes. 

“well, i’m sure it’ll be fine,” kevin’s laughs. 

-

“i’m sorry!” toni yells panically as she chases a girl who stood a few inches taller than her, as she walks briskly away from her, holding a towel up to her bloody nose. 

“forget it muscles!” the soccer coach yells as she walks up behind toni, her arm wrapped around another student who was swaying and holding her head. “i need girls for the team. girls with faces!”

“why don’t you try wrestling, or ultimate fighting?” the girl with the bloody nose bites before the three of them walk away, leaving behind a guilty looking toni. 

she sighs and leans back against the lockers just as fangs appears form around the corner. 

“let me guess… soccer went the same way tennis tryouts went, and volleyball, and cheerleading?” fangs say,s trying to stifle his giggles but to no avail. 

“i’m just trying to do _something_ … something so i can feel normal.”

“you don’t fit in with the humans anymore, toni. why keep fighting. come over to the hot side,” he says as he flexes his bicep, snapping out his fangs. “every looks better with fangs… the teeth, and me.” fangs says snugly as he flexes both arms while flashing her pearly white, sharp teeth. 

“put those away!” toni says as she smacks fangs in the abdomen, just as malachi appears from around the corner. 

“hey, i’m malachi martinez. which you probably know since i’m malachi martinez. i saw you talking to my two new best buds. and since your friends with my friends, that makes me-”

“really annoying?” toni interrupts. “maybe you should shave your forehead again, i think you missed a spot.”

malachi’s face scrunches up in anger before he growls and walks away.

“hey, i’m fangs but the way! call me sometime!” fangs yells after him, and toni rolls her eyes. 

“cheryl thinks he’s a werewolf. i think he’s a loser.”

“and i think he would look great with me. now he is someone i could date. he’s so cute and primal,” fangs says as he raises the corner of his top lip and growls before biting his teeth. 

toni looks at him in shock and disgust before rolling her eyes and walking away. 

-

“hey! i’ve got it!” kevin’s says as he walks up to cheryl as she stands by the staircase. “a spell that will prove malachi is a werewolf. one hit and it’s claw and tooth time. then we get it on tape upload it to youtube and become internet famous. boys! bucks!”

“not to mention biting and bodies. if we let a werewolf loose in school there’s gonna be plenty of that,” cheryl scoffs in reply. 

“do you wanna know if he’s a canine or not? better to find out now… and on camera, cause there’s a full moon on friday. malachi may be a party animal but he’s all money.”

“hey guys!” archie greets cheerfully as he walks up to them. “who’s a party animal? it’s me right?”

“uh, no it’s malachi. don’t worry about it,” cheryl waves him off.”

“oh you’re having a party? cause my friday night is wide open. and saturday.”

cheryl and kevin share a look. 

“uh sorry archie were uh… going to the beach… to tan… you know vamps and sun don’t get along. maybe next time though,” cheryl says while kevin’s looks at archie awkwardly. 

“oh, yeah, for sure! see you guys later,” archie smiles sadly as cheryl grabs kevin by his sleeve and they walk away. 

“harsh,” kevin whispers. 

“it had to be done. if malachi really is a werewolf he’d tear archie to shreds, no matter how much super strength he has now. wolves and vamps are like archenemies. kind of like you and guys,” cheryl jokes as she walks away and kevin laughs sarcastically as he follows her. 

-

once the final bell rings, cheryl and kevin make a pit stop to his locker to grab his spell book before going outside to the practice field where the football team is currently practicing. a few other students gather around to watch, including fangs, who was leaning against the tree, under the shade, watching malachi with hungry eyes. 

“okay,” kevin says as he opens his spell book, hidden behind his history textbook. “just one little spell and things are about to get wolfy.”

“speaking of wolves there’s him right there.” cheryl points to malachi just as he caught the ball.

“lookin good malachi!” fangs shouts causing malachi to get distracted. he turns to look at fangs just as two of his teammates tackle him to the ground. 

“now! do it now!” cheryl says and kevin’s nods quickly before reading the words from his book. 

“ _domlath lupus… gorkanoth.”_ kevin states and pushes his hand towards the boy, sending a orangish looking ball of flying towards malachi. however, it misses him and circles back around, crashing into cheryl, who’s entire body literally lights up as she falls to the ground. 

“ah! what the fuck, kevin!”

“sorry, i got nervous. but don’t worry, you’re not a wolf so you’ll be fine,” kevin says as he helps cheryl back to her feet. “okay, trying again… _domlath lupus… gorkanoth!”_ he sends another ball of light out of his hand and this time it makes direct hit with malachi. the force causes him to stumble back, and he falls to his knees. kevin quickly pulls his camera out to catch the change, but right as he presses the record button, malachi shakes his head and stands back up to his feet with a clap and runs back to his teammates. 

“he is so not a werewolf,” kevin whines. 

“wait a second. there’s a better way to do this. hold this,” cheryl hands her backpack to kevin and walks onto the field in hopes to get malachi's attention for a second when suddenly malachi catches a pass and collides with her, the both of them falling to the ground. 

“oh shit! sorry!” he shouts in shock. 

cheryl doesn’t reply. she just reaches out and touches his arm and the second she makes contact her vision turns white. she sees a wolf howling at a full moon; the moon turns into a gold circle with weird symbols on it; then a bottle forms around it with a bright blue substance inside before a hairy, clawed up hand grabs it. she gasps as her vision turns back to normal. 

“are you okay?” malachi says as he climbs to his feet and extends a hand to help her up as well. 

“yeah i’m good. wasn’t watching where i was going.” 

malachi nods and pats her shoulder before he runs back over to his team, just as kevin jogs over her.

“so yeah, malachi is definitely a werewolf.”

“that’s impossible. my wolf reveal spell didn’t work.”

“kevin, when was the last time any of your spells worked? need i remind you of the demon animals we had to battle last week?”

“okay good point but-.”

“trust me, he’s a wolf. i saw it. i had a vision.”

“then uh… we might have a problem,” kevin says as he grabs cheryl's arm to reveal a large cut.

“oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck… please tell me i’m not going to turn into a werewolf jock.”

“it doesn’t work like that. you’d just be a regular werewolf.” kevin tries to joke but shuts his mouth at the glare he receives from cheryl. 

-

“kevin! kevin!” cheryl yells frantically as she runs up to kevin just as he enters the student lounge. it was the following morning. “i think i’m changing. i chased a car this morning… five blocks! like… what the fuck!?”

“would you relax. i googled it. you have to be bitten by a werewolf in wolf form for the curse to pass on. you were just _scratched_ by malachi when he was in jock form.”

cheryl doesn’t reply, she just scratches over her bandage on her arm with a nod and a sigh as they walk over to where toni was sitting on the couch. 

“hey toni,” they greet at the same time. 

“hey! your pal malachi is a real charmer,” she says sarcastically. 

“well he is your ancestral enemy,” cheryl says, her tone slightly harsh and her face hardening. 

“or maybe he’s just a loser,” toni responds. 

“what? little miss neck biter having trouble believing in werewolves?” cheryl bites as she takes a step forward only to be held back by kevin. 

“woah, cheryl? what’s gotten into you?” kevin asks, his brows furrowed in confusion. 

toni stands up from the couch and approaches cheryl with a look of anger.

“who are the ancestral enemies now, huh?” kevin laughs awkwardly. 

“what’d you call me?” toni asks sharply. 

“whatever, don’t get your fangs in a twist,” cheryl scoffs.

“s-so uh…” kevin says as he jumps in between them, facing cheryl, as she and toni glare at each other. “moving on… that symbol you saw, i looked it up last night,” he says as he pulls a piece of paper out of his backpack, with the symbol cheryl saw in her vision drawn on it. “and get this, it’s for a reversal cure.”

“a cure?” toni gasps. “does it work for other curses like… a vampire curse,” she whispers. 

“why? soccer team have a strict _no blood sucker_ policy.”

“cheryl, relax, jeez,” kevin says as he holds her back again. “it might work on other curses. malachi is probably trying to find it before the full moon tonight.”

toni snatches the paper from kevin. 

“we’re ditching class. you are helping me find this cure, now,” toni says as she pulls strongly on kevin’s arm and walks towards the exit. but before they leave she turns around to glare at cheryl. 

“we… are not done.” she says before leaving the room and cheryl growls at her as she exits. 

-

fangs was leaning up against the lockers, his feet crossed, as he tucks his hands into his pocket. he flicks his head up in ‘ _what’s up’_ as a few girls walk by. but finally the person he was waiting for shows up and stops at the locker next to him. fangs raises his sunglasses, that he didn’t even need to wear indoors, to rest on top of his head as he leans his hand against the locker.

“hey there. malachi right?”

“yeah. that’s me,” malachi answers as he enters his combination and opens his locker to grab a book. 

“just a random question. have you ever read _dusk five?”_

“no, i don’t think i have.”

“well you should uh… give it a read then call me.” fangs says smoothly making a clicking sound with his mouth before walking away. 

just as he rounds the corner he yelps as he almost collides with archie, who was standing there leaning against the lockers as if he was waiting for him. 

“archie! shit, you gotta stop sneaking up on people. what do you want?”

“i was just checking to see if you were going to the big party tonight?”

“what party?”

“cheryl and kevin were talking about how malachi is a party animal. and cheryl’s parents are always out on these lame date nights every friday-”

“wait,” fangs interrupts. “they’re having a party on friday with fine ass malachi and they didn’t even invite me?”

“yeah!” archie agrees. “how could they throw a party and not invite _you?”_

-

“hey honey, we’re about to head out to the musical.” penelope says as she walks into the kitchen where cheryl sat at the island, working on her homework.

“and don’t worry, you’re friend malachi is here, he can help you watch jason until toni gets here.” clifford says. 

“what!?” cheryl exclaims just as malachi walks into the kitchen with an annoying smile on his face. 

“what’s up man!” malachi says as he fist bumps cheryl’s dad. 

“okay... it’s a full moon tonight so please don’t do anything too crazy.” penelope jokes to which cheryl nods awkwardly. 

“okay, we’ll be back around 11. bye guys.” 

cheryl waves as she watches them head down the hall and out the door. 

“so hey, i’ve got a uh-” malachi starts before cheryl cuts him off. 

“i know that you’re a werewolf and i know you’re here looking for some kind of cure.” cheryl rushes out. 

“so you _do_ have the gift. i knew it!”

“or you’re the most obvious werewolf ever.” cheryl scoffs. “i don’t need a gift to see this,” she says as she tugs on the flea collar around his neck. “you know there’s a pill for fleas now, right?”

“okay whatever. let’s cut to the chase. i became your friend because i’m hoping your second sight might help me find the cure.”

“all i saw was a symbol, but i don’t know what it means.” 

“aw man, but tonight’s the full moon!” malachi whines. “you want me to turn into a snarling beast? you have no idea how hard it is to hold it in. i just wanna be me again.”

“look i’m sorry but that’s all i have. my friend kevin is looking into it so hopefully h-he can um… he can figure out what it... means. c-can you excuse me for a sec,” suddenly cheryl just got an extreme urge to scratch behind her ear and she excuses herself to the bathroom to handle it. but as she sees herself the mirror she gasps. her eyebrows are getting thicker, and her baby hairs around her neck are growing, and the itch wouldn’t go away. 

something is definitely wrong. 

-

“okay, i’ve checked with every nerd i know and no one can figure out how to decipher this symbol,” kevin sighs frustratedly as he leans back in his desk chair. 

“kevin, i really need this cure!” toni snaps, as she slams the old book she was reading down on his desk. 

“alright alright! i guess cheryl is our last resort,” kevin facetimes cheryl from his computer and waits a few moments before cheryl answers but her screen is completely dark. 

“cheryl? you there?”

“ _kevin… it’s happening…”_ cheryl whispers shakily.

“cheryl!” toni pushes kevin aside and sits in his chair. “we really need to know what this means!” she pleads as she holds the paper up to the camera. 

“ _i don’t know. it’s a reversal cure. maybe… look at it backwards?”_

toni doesn’t respond. she stands from the chair and walks straight into the bathroom. she stands in front of the mirror, her reflection going in and out as she reads the letters on the symbol. 

“baharoth? great, that makes so much sense now,” she gruffs sarcastically as she walks back into kevin’s room. 

“hold on wait, it does!” kevin says as he flips through one of the books they were reading. “a baharoth is like a magic circle of stones,” kevin turns the book around to show cheryl the picture of the circle of stones. 

“ _wait, i think i’ve seen that. in the park behind your house.”_

“cheryl, whatever you do, do not tell malachi. i need to get there first.” toni rushes out, pushing kevin out of the way again. 

“ _malachi really wants that cure. he’s not into the whole werewolf thing.”_

“just don’t tell him, please,” toni says before blurring out of kevin’s room. 

“thanks kevin, you’re the best. anytime toni.” kevin mumbles to himself. 

“ _is she gone?”_

“yeah,” kevin replies and cheryl turns on her bedroom light and kevin yells in surprise. cheryl's hair is disheveled, her eyebrows are really thick, and has hair growing out of the side of her face. “holy shit!”

“ _thanks for making me feel better!”_ she said sarcastically. _“i didn’t want toni to see me like this.”_

“wait, this might actually be my fault. that spell i accidentally hit you with. what if that’s what’s making you wolf out?”

cheryl purses her lips and closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath. 

“ _did you say it backwards…_ **_again_ ** _!?”_

“oh fuck… i made you a werewolf! look, i’ll fix this. i’ll be right there, just sit tight!”

-

just as cheryl ends her call with kevin the doorbell rings. 

“okay there’s no way he got here that fast.” she mumbles.

meanwhile, downstairs jason opens the door and a horde of students walk into the house. his brows furrow in confusion until archie steps up onto the porch. the eight year old boy tilts his head accusingly, knowing he’s probably behind this.

“now it’s a party, because the real party animal is here. it wasn’t a party until i arrived in case you were wondering.” 

jason simply shrugs in response before inviting him inside, who was followed by fangs. 

“yo, where’s that hot werewolf. tonight he will defy his werewolf nature and admits he’s into me despite me being a vampire.”

“you’re weird,” jason says. 

“you’re short,” fangs taunts back. 

“i’m eight... he’s over there,” jason points down the hallway as malachi heads for the basement door, holding chains. 

“hey maninal!” fangs calls out and malachi just looks at him before running down the stairs, and fangs follows him.

kevin is the next to enter the house and he is just as confused as jason as he steps through the door. 

“where’s cheryl- hey! she's having a party and didn’t tell me?”

-

“holy shit,” kevin gasps as he walks through cheryl’s bedroom door to find her tying herself to her bed. in addition to her facial change her arms were also hairy and her fingernails grew into claws.

“kevin, just stay away from me,” she said through heavy breaths, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “the moon… i’m… changing!”

“okay okay, just relax. i did this and i can fix it alright, hold on.” kevin takes his spell book out of his backpack and quickly flips to the page he bookmarked. “okay uh… _corvus trigon!”_ kevin’s hand glows brightly and he waves his hand over cheryl's body, from her feet to her head. 

cheryl’s body arches off the bed and she groans. when the light fades, cheryl breathes heavily as she looks down at her body, but nothing changes. she still looks the same and her heart is still beating rapidly. 

“kevin, i still look the same!”

“chill! you’re cured trust me, you’ll change back. now come on we need to get down to the party and find the real werewolf.” kevin says as he starts to untie cheryl. 

“party? who’s having a party?” cheryl asks, her thick brows furrow in confusion.

“you are. now let’s go find malachi.”

-

toni was walking through the park in search of the circle of stones. she finds the circle towards the back of the park in front of a tree and blurs over to it. she stops in the middle and drops to her knees and starts to dig right in front of the largest rock that sat in the middle. 

she digs for a few minutes, making a hole about a foot deep until she hits something hard that’s wrapped in burlap. she removes the wrap to reveal a small chest and she opens the chest and pulls out a small vial filled with a blue substance that’s glowing brightly in the moonlight. she knows it’s the right one when she reads the baharoth symbol on the vial. 

she pulls the cork out of the top and puts the vial up to her lips, taking a deep breath to prepare herself.

this is it. she is finally going to be cured of her vampirism. she can finally get back to her life. 

but just as she’s about to pour it into her mouth she hears a loud howling.

she looks at the vial in her hand as the howling continues and she hesitates before cursing under her breath and standing up from the ground, blurring back to cheryl’s house. 

she walks through the door, and rolls her eyes hard as she sees archie swinging from the light fixture that hung from the ceiling in the living room. 

“yo, toni! am i a party animal or what?” he shouts before howling loudly.

“false alarm. just an idiot.” toni sighs with a roll of her eyes, just as she hears a loud scream and growling noises. she runs to the basement door and archie, curious as ever, follows her. 

as she descends the staircase she sees malachi in full wolf form, snapping at kevin who tries his hardest to dodge each attack, all while fangs just watches from the staircase with a maniacal smile. 

“that’s right, use him like a chew toy.” fangs laughs. 

“hey, i thought we were cool!” kevin yells as he dodges another bite attempt. 

toni blurs in between them and snarls at the wolf, her fangs popped out and eyes glowing yellow. she forces malachi back as she continues hissing at him, and kevin takes the opportunity to run to the stairs.

“hey, what’s happening!” archie says as he walks down the stars, but one look at the wolf causing him to scream and cower behind kevin. his scream pulls malachi’s attention and toni grabs him from the back and takes the vial out of her pocket. she pulls the cork out with her teeth and forces the bottle into the wolf’s mouth, emptying all of the contents. the wolf starts to calm down and lays down on the floor. 

“no!” fangs shouts as he drops to his knees next to malachi. “what did you do!?”

“i cured him.” toni says with a look of longing on her face. 

however, when the wolf turns back into human form all four of them gasp when they realize it wasn’t malachi at all. there, on the floor, lie cheryl, unconscious and stark naked. 

“oh my… fuck!” fangs shouts as he jumps back away from cheryl and covers his eyes.

“oh-” kevin gasps and he and archie quickly turn their backs to her.

“oh shit!” toni yells and she turns around to find something to cover her with. she grabs a blanket that was sitting on top of the washing machine and quickly covers cheryl's body with it. 

“so uh… where malachi?” kevin asks as he turns around once cheryl is covered. 

they hear a whimpering sound and snap their heads to the far corner of the basement where malachi, looking like a big fluffy dog rather than a snarling beast, is chained up. 

“ _that’s_ malachi? that’s so lame,” fangs whines. 

“great, just what the internet needs. a cute animal video,” kevin deadpans as he opens his camera with a disappointed expression on his face. 

-

the following monday morning, toni was standing at her locker as cheryl appears from around the corner, fiddling with the sleeves of her sweater. 

“hey,” she greets. 

“oh hey, how are you feeling?”

“a lot better. i just wanted to say thanks for saving me. you could’ve saved yourself. i uh… i didn’t know you cared so much.” cheryl nervously says. 

“well to be honest, i thought you were malachi. but if i knew it was you i would’ve made the same choice.”

toni smiles and cheryl smiles back and a beat passes as they just stare at each other. 

“yo!” kevin shouts, pulling cheryl and toni’s attention as he and malachi appear from around the corner wearing matching letterman’s jackets. “check us out!”

“wow, lookin’ good boys,” toni chuckles as the two boys stop in front of them. 

“ah, just the girl i was looking for,” malachi says as he runs his fingers through his curly hair. 

“yeah?” toni responds and to her surprise, and cheryl’s as well, malachi grabs her hand and holds it up. 

“you were willing to give up your cure for me. allow me to thank you by taking you on a proper date?”

part of cheryl wishes she was still a werewolf so she could tear him to shreds. how dare he ask out her girl who’s not her girl.

toni looks at malachi shockingly before reaching into her locker and grabbing a tennis ball.

“fetch,” she says as she throws the ball down the hall and malachi chases after it. 

“sorry but uh… you’re not my type.”


	4. part one: chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this episode is based on season one: episode five: blood drive.
> 
> the annual blood drive comes to riverdale but the nurses aren’t just any regular nurses. 
> 
> (tw/ lots of mention of blood)

it’s been two weeks since the whole werewolf fiasco, and two weeks without some supernatural crisis. cheryl was finally starting to relax, just hoping things were going back to normal. 

she should’ve known better. 

the annual blood drive is going on at riverdale high. cheryl and kevin walk through the school to a long line forming down the hall into a classroom. the line was mostly full of guys which confused cheryl because every year there were always more girls in attendance. 

it took them awhile for them to reach the classroom but once they did cheryl understood why more guys were participating this year. 

the nurses were absolutely gorgeous. 

“fucking finally. the donate line has never been this long,” kevin says as they walk through the classroom door. 

“you’re surprised? look,” cheryl scoffs, pointing to the nurses taking students' blood. there was a particular nurse with curly brown hair; the guy sitting in her chair was looking up at her like she formed the stars. 

“straight guys,” kevin deadpanned. 

“my mom thinks i should donate,” cheryl says hesitantly, scratching absentmindedly at her arm as she tries not to look at the needles. “she says my blood is special, which is exactly why it should stay in my body.”

“she has to say your blood is special, she’s your mom. besides, you and i both know the only reason you aren’t donating is because you’re afraid of needles.” kevin chuckles. 

“i’m not _afraid..._ i just don’t like them.”

“oh come on cheryl. you’re seventeen years old and still have to hold your moms hand when you get a shot. admit it, you’re a chicken.”

“hey i am _not_ a chicken, you asshole…” cheryl scoffs as she rolls her eyes, she looks over at one of the nurses as she lifts up a needle and feels her knees go weak, stumbling into kevin. “i...i just…”

just then, toni walks in, a nervous, edgy expression on her face, as she shoves chip after chip into her mouth. 

“i just have to uh...talk to toni!” cheryl drops her head to the floor as she walks across the room to where toni is standing. “hey toni.”

“what’s up?” toni replies monotonously, her eyes focused past cheryl on the blood, as she shoves four chips in her mouth.

“not much, are you okay?” 

“sure! i’m fine! why? don’t i look okay?” she responds as her eyes remain locked on the blood; her face covered in crumbs. 

“you have like, half a bag of chips on your face.”

“fine,” toni sighs as she wipes the crumbs off her mouth. 

“seeing all the blood is really getting to you huh?” cheryl asks, a look of worry on her face. 

“it’s like letting addicts loose in a jingle jangle lab!” toni whines as she shoves another chip into her mouth. 

“do you need help? i could be, like, your diet buddy?” cheryl’s eyes light up, wanting any excuse to hang out with toni. 

“it’s fangs i’m worried about. he’s doesn’t have as much self control as me and if-”

“oh hey toni,” fangs suddenly says as he pops up behind cheryl, wearing a white lab coat and holding a tray of cookies. “cookie?” he says with an evil smile and pops his fangs out. 

and cheryl and toni glare at him in pure shock.

“i’m uh...yeah i’m gonna get back in line...let you handle that.” cheryl says as she excuses herself and walks back over to kevin. 

fangs sets the tray down and pulls a cotton ball with a big drop of blood on it and sniffs it with a hum. 

“fangs what are you doing?” toni asks. 

“i’m student volunteering, great for college apps, ya know.”

“a student volunteer? that is so devious! and...kind of clever...” toni mumbles. 

“i know, right? so… when are you going to take a sip? the sooner we get past this awkward phase of our friendship, the better.”

“i don’t eat humans. sorry if that’s awkward for you,” toni says with a hard glare. 

fangs just smirks as he holds up a blood bag and waves it in toni’s face. she looks at it temptingly before reaching back into her bag of chips. she gasps when she finds the bag empty and crumbles it up before storming out of the classroom.

meanwhile. 

“what up with toni?” kevin asks, from where they watched the encounter across the room. 

“it’s the smell. she’s scarfing junk food to dull the craving,” cheryl responds. 

“regular food won’t satisfy her hunger. that’s like vampire 101.”

“we should keep an eye on her… and our other fanged friends as well,” cheryl says as she watches fangs sneak a couple vials of blood into his pocket. 

“yeah, definitely.”

meanwhile, back on the other side of the room, fangs watches in awe as the nurse with curly brown hair sticks a needle into a boy's arm and tapes it down. 

“oh i have got to get me one of those,” he mumbles to himself. just as the nurse walks away, fangs places his hand on the boy's shoulder. “hey, you’re a big strong boy. you got one more pint for me?” he asks charmingly and the boy nods his head without hesitation. 

“valerie, keep the line moving. i’m taking these bags to the truck!” the head nurse calls out, and fangs watches as she carries a box of blood bags out of the classroom, his eyes lighting up. 

“truck? full of blood?” he mumbles to himself with a smile. “okay okay, this could be risky, i need a gullible little helper to steal it for me.” 

just then archie walks into the room, his eyes wide in excitement as he looks down at the table of blood bags. 

“oh baby!” he shouts. “it’s like a blood vending mach-”

“shh!” fangs cuts him off. 

“sweet,” the redhead boy whispers with a chuckle. 

“how would you like to go on a secret mission?” fangs asks and archie smiles and nods his head. “okay, here’s the plan,” fangs pulls archie forward to whisper in his ear. 

meanwhile back over to the other side of the room, cheryl and kevin watch the two vampires talk with knowing expressions on their faces. 

“they’re up to something. i’m going to try and get closer,” she whispers and kevin nods as she makes her way over to them. 

but before she can get to them fangs holds up a needle and cheryl feels her knees get weak and her vision blurs before she collapses on the floor. 

“cheryl? holy shit!” kevin gasps as the nurses run to her aid. 

-

toni stands in front of the vending machine, one bag of chips in her hand as she watches as the coil pushes out another bag of chips, but before they could fall the bag gets stuck. 

“oh fucking hell! come on!” toni yells frustratedly. she balls her fist and winds her hand back in preparation to punch through the glass, until fangs’ voice stops her. 

“you do realize you could end your pain with one tiny little sip, right?” fangs says as he appears from around the corner. he sways a coffee mug full of blood in toni’s face, her eyes following back and forth as if in a trance as she hears the blood sloshing inside getting louder and louder. she closes her eyes with a deep breath to snap out of it. 

“that blood is meant to save lives, you know.”

“well duh! mission accomplished,” fangs takes a sip and lets out a refreshing breath, the blood staining his teeth and he slides his tongue over his top row of teeth to clean them. “see? no screaming.”

“right. until your ass gets caught. then we’ll see who’s screaming,” toni goes to open her bag of chips but her hunger and slight anger causes her to use too much strength and she rips the entire bag open, causing all of the chips to fall to the floor. 

“oh… no problem,” fangs whines sarcastically as he pats toni’s shoulder. “five second rule,” he winks and puts his mug up to his lips as he walks away.

“i… am strong enough… to fight this craving,” toni says breathily to herself. she looks down at the floor to find a chip that landed on top of another chip. she bends down and picks it up. “after i eat this chip.”

-

_“you’re not actually thinking of coming back are you? i highly doubt you can top that faint,”_ kevin’s voice comes through cheryl’s phone as she leaves the nurses office. 

“i have to prove i’m not a chicken. you’ll see,”

“ _okayyy… we’ll see…”_ kevin drags out sarcastically and cheryl scoffs before hanging up on him. she walks around the corner and spots toni’s pink hair. 

“hey toni! you doing okay with the whole… holy shit,” she gasps as she walks up behind toni to see the vending machine busted open laying sideways on the floor and all of the empty snack wrappers scattered around. 

“don’t... say it,” toni mumbles as she shoves a powdered donut into her mouth. 

cheryl chuckles and pats toni on the back before walking away, stepping around the wrappers, figuring toni isn’t in the mood to chat right now. just as she rounds the corner she almost collides with archie.

“hey arch-” 

“i can't tell you anything!” he rushes out before cheryl can even finish her greeting. “fangs would kill me…” he starts to back up slowly and cheryl follows him. “fuck, i’ve already said too much… bye,” archie turns around to walk away but collides into kevin, holding a cookie. “fuck, not cool!” he shouts before walking away from them both. 

“what’s up with count dorkula?” kevin asks as he takes a bite of his cookie. 

“sounds like fangs is pulling his strings.” cheryl responds. 

“of course he’s the puppet master,” kevin chuckles. 

“i bet they’re after the blood!”

“oh the crimson nectar. time to call in the big gun!”

“if you’re talking about toni she’s already got enough on our plate today. i think we gotta handle this ourselves. it’s time you and i got our hands dirty.”

“good thing i brought hand sanitizer!” kevin nods with a smile as he pulls out a bottle of hand sanitizer, causing cheryl to squint her eyes at him. “o-oh you meant metaphorically… anyways moving on. so what’s the plan?”

-

archie was standing by his locker cleaning his sunglasses with his shirt when cheryl walks up to him. 

“hey.”

“i already told you! my lips are sealed!”

“relax archie, i just have a quick uh… superhero question. if you could be anyone for a day, who would you be? spider-man or the hulk?”

“spider-man, easy! he’s a teenager with super strength, heightened senses and can shoot webs out of his hands. the hulk is just a big green doofus with purple shorts.” archie says passionately. 

and while archie was talking kevin sneaks up behind him and drops a tracker into his backpack.

“thanks arch,” cheryl smiles sarcastically and pats him on the shoulder before walking past him and around the corner to where kevin was waiting. 

“the gps is in place,” kevin says as he holds up his phone to show a small digital map with a small blue circle that shows where the tracker is. “we can track him at all times now.”

“great! i never thought i’d ever say this but… let’s spend the day following archie around.”

-

“yo,” fangs calls as he approaches archie at his locker. “you got a plan for the truck or what?”

“i do,” archie says as he turns around, holding a mini model of some sort. “and it’s tight, see. the spaceship is the blood truck. i’m the mini hershey kiss and you’re the jelly bean. you wait over here, out of sight, while i attack the truck making sure no one gets in our way. then we get in and take off with the blood.”

“great, great, that is… fine.” fangs smiles a tight lipped smile. 

meanwhile, cheryl and kevin were standing just around the corner trying to eavesdrop although they could hardly hear what they were saying. 

“what are they saying? and why is he showing fangs that mini spaceship?” cheryl asks. 

“i don’t know… how many times has archie brought toys over to your place?”

“true, unfortunately… well the clinic is closing anyway.”

“let’s go to your place and play mario kart,” kevin says excitedly. 

“but… archie…”

“we can still monitor his gps signal from there.”

“uhh… alright fine! only ‘cause i want a rematch.” cheryl agrees just as toni comes down the hall. “you go ahead i’ll catch up, okay?”

kevin turns just as toni approaches them and then he turns back to cheryl, mouthing ‘oh’ with a nod and winks before walking away. 

“hey toni,” she smiles. 

“hey cheryl. sorry i’ve been moody today.”

“hey, no worries. i totally get it. but you’ll be happy to know that kevin and i held down the fort while you were gone. the blood is safe.”

“but at what cost? maybe we should just let fangs have it, or he’ll just keep draining people. better blood bags than body bags, right?”

“i guess… that follows a certain… vampire logic.” cheryl says questioningly. “are you okay?”

“yeah,” toni sighs. “nothing a dozen powdered donuts won’t cure. are you heading out? i could walk you home.”

cheryl would love nothing more than to allow toni to walk her home but she looks past her at a sign that reads: _blood drive today. 8am - 4pm._

“i would love that but... no... i have to see a nurse about a chicken.”

toni follows her line of sight to the sign and smiles. 

“well, good luck. i believe in you.” 

“thanks,” cheryl smiles before walking away and heading towards the classroom. 

hey!” cheryl calls as she hesitantly steps into the room where the nurses are packing up. “i know i missed last call, but i got a pint of blood just sloshing around inside me. if you want it, i promise i won’t faint this time.”

“come on in. i got you,” the nurse with the curly hair says as she pats down on the seat. the older nurse announces she is heading back out to the truck. 

cheryl drops her backpack and sits down in the chair as the nurse gets her supplies ready. 

-

outside, archie and fangs hide behind a dumpster as they watch one of the nurses close the back door of the truck and head back inside. 

“okay the coast is clear, go!” fangs says. 

“i’m on it.” archie does a dramatic tumble roll before quickly tip-toeing over to the truck. he takes a look around before opening the door and stepping inside, closing it behind him. he raises his shades to the top of his head and looks around in awe.

“holy shit!” he gasps as he takes in the abundance of blood bags. he grabs one and opens it and starts taking greedy gulps.

“ _yo, what is taking so long!?”_ fangs’ voice comes through the walkie talkie clipped to archies jeans. 

when the bag is empty archie wipes his mouth with the back of his hand just as fangs barges into the truck. 

“what the hell do you think you’re doing? that’s my blood!”

“i was just… having a sample?” archie shrugs.

the door to the truck opens and the both of them snap their heads around as the older nurse looks back at them. 

“what’s going on?” she asks. 

“back off sweetie, or these blood bags won’t be the only things getting drained.” fangs snaps before he snaps he sharp teeth out and snarls at the nurse. 

he expects her to cower in fear but his brows furrow in confusion when she just crosses her arm and laughs in response. 

“okay, not exactly the reaction i was going for.” fangs mumbles. 

-

kevin was in his room, playing mario kart by himself. he realizes he hasn’t checked the gps in a while so he looks down at his phone to spot where the tracker was, and pauses his race. 

“what are you doing behind the school archie?” he mumbles to himself. “let’s see what the security cameras have to say.”

kevin types on his computer and hacks into the school's security cameras. he pulls up the camera behind the school and sees archie step into the truck, followed by fangs a minute later. 

“oh fuck.”

-

“before you do it, can you give me, like, a three count? or no, a five count please.” cheryl nervously says, trying to relax in the chair. just then her phone rings and she takes it out of her pocket to see kevin’s name. 

“kev, what’s up? i’m about to-”

“ _girl, archie and fangs are gonna hit the donor truck behind the school!”_ kevin rushes out before cheryl can finish her sentence. 

cheryl’s eyes widen and she opens her mouth to reply before the nurse turns to her. 

“this won’t hurt a bit,” she says softly. 

she grabs cheryl’s arm and cheryl gasps as her vision turns white. she sees that same nurse but her eyes are glowing blue, fangs sticking out, and she snarls, before her vision flashes back to normal and sees the nurse smiling down at her. 

“relax, i don’t bite,” the nurse says sweetly. 

“promise?” cheryl says shakily. 

-

“you’re a nurse, so you know what these little babies can do to a jugular,” fangs says, trying to be as intimidating as possible, as the older nurse steps into the truck.

the nurse snaps her own fangs out and snarls at the two younger vampires, causing archie to flinch with a yelp, and fangs’ smug expression to turn to shock. 

“wait ‘til you see what happens when those babies are all grown up.” the nurse says, wearing her own smug expression now. 

“she’s… one of us?” archie whispers. 

“i did not expect that,” fangs adds. 

“you two have broken one of our oldest laws; trying to steal food from your own kind. the council will make you pay for this.”

“what, like a vampire fine?” fangs chuckles. “just give the ticket to little red here, i’m sure he’s good for it.”

“woah woah no, this was your idea.” 

the nurse doesn’t reply. she blurs out of the truck and slams the door behind them. archie and fangs run to the door and try to open it from the inside but find it locked. 

“hey! let us out!” they yell as they bang on the door. 

-

“so u-uh...how much blood do you usually take?” cheryl smiles nervously, still shaken up the vision she just saw. 

“how much do you have?” the nurse asks and cheryl’s eyes widen. “just a pint,” the nurse laughs as she prepares to draw cheryl’s blood. 

cheryl balls her fist and the nurse just barely pricks her arm with a needle before the other nurse walks into the room. 

“valerie! we’re leaving. now!” 

“maybe next time…” she says as she pulls the needle back out and covers the spot with a cotton ball. “it’s a shame too… you smell…” she bends down and sniffs cheryl’s arm. “hmm...interesting.”

“valerie! let’s go!” the older nurse yells impatiently.

“you can help yourself to a cookie on the way out,” valerie says as she follows the nurse out of the classroom. 

toni walks through the door on the other side of the classroom and looks at cheryl with a confused expression. 

“cheryl?”

“toni, okay we’ve got big trouble. those nurses are vampires. i just had a vision,” cheryl says as she stands up from the chair. still holding the cotton ball, now doused in a small drop of blood, to her arm. 

“what’s that smell? it smells amazing?” toni breathes as she closes her eyes and takes a big inhale through her nose.

she looks down at cheryl's arm and snatches the cotton ball from her and smells it. 

“is that… your blood? it smells so good! like, really, really good.”

“thanks?” cheryl questions as she takes the cotton ball out of her hands. “uh, here, have a cookie. take two!”

cheryl grabs toni two cookies from the tray by her chair and toni takes a big bite from one as they head for the door. toni stops and grabs a handful of cookies from the tray by the door. cheryl grabs her arm to pull her and toni grabs the entire tray as they leave the room. 

-

kevin was out of breath, breathing heavily as he ran towards the school. when he found out what archie and fangs were up to he left so fast he didn’t even think to grab his bike. he realized it after he got three blocks away from his home but he knew if he went back he wouldn’t get there in time. 

however, just as he runs around the back of the school he sees the blood truck take off. 

“fuck, seriously!? i ran all the way here for nothing!?”

“kevin!” cheryl yells as she and toni exit through the backdoor of the school. 

“cheryl! you hung up on me!” kevin huffs as he walks towards the two. 

“later!” toni interjects. “right now we have vampire nurses to deal with!”

“wait, vampire nurses?” kevin asks and the two women nod. “alright, that’s worth all the running. okay what do we do? wait- where’s archie and fangs?”

“you figured out they were planning to rob the blood truck didn’t you?” cheryl asks. 

“oh, yeah,” kevin digs into his pocket and pulls out his phone. he opens his gps to see where the tracker is. “okay, archie is on the move, and fast. i saw him and fangs go into the truck before i ran here-”

“so they’re probably trapped in the truck!” cheryl adds. 

“they’re in danger. vampires are super territorial.” toni says worriedly. 

“we gotta grab our gear and go after them, fast.” cheryl says and the three of them take off. 

-

once they get to cheryl's house, kevin packs the gear into a duffel bag as cheryl quickly searches for anything she can find on these vampire nurses. 

“hey hey, look at this,” she says and kevin walks over and stands behind her to read what she found on the screen. “these blood sucking nurses have over thirty towns on their route. they’ve been running this scam for years. but if everyone knew they weren’t real nurses it wouldn’t run much longer. we can use that information against them.”

“alright great! we gotta go, now. our friends are in trouble and i’m pretty sure toni is eating all of your frozen meat.” kevin says. 

cheryl quickly emails the webpage link to herself before the three of them leave the house; toni taking a frozen steak with her as they walk out to her car. 

-

toni follows the gps on kevin’s phone and it leads them to a warehouse on the outskirts of the town. toni parks and they hop out of the car. cheryl and kevin strap water guns filled with holy water around their backs, and they quietly make their way inside. 

they hide behind a wall as they listen to the two nurses, who are standing outside of the truck, talk. 

“i’m so tired of playing it safe. why can’t we have a little fun with these two?” the younger nurse says. 

“you know the rules. we have to take them to the council.”

“the council?” the younger nurse scoffs. “they don’t need to know. it’s not like these two newbies would put up much of a fight anyway.”

“maybe _they_ won’t!” toni shouts as she, cheryl and kevin, reveal themselves. 

“but we will,” cheryl says as she points the gun at them. 

“you?” the younger nurse challenges as she and the older nurse step to them. 

“yeah that’s right, us!”

“yeah and me!” kevin adds, causing toni and cheryl to look at him and roll their eyes. “i’m kevin, the one who didn’t pass out,” he smiles as he points to cheryl, who again just rolls her eyes. 

“kevin, get to archie and fangs. we’ll hold them off,” she whispers and kevin nods and runs away. “mostly toni.”

toni snaps her fangs out, her eyes glowing yellow as she steps to the nurses, who snarl at her, their more developed fangs protruding and bright blue eyes glowing. 

the younger nurse swings her fist and toni blocks it with her forearm as she lands a kick to the older nurse's leg. she dodges and blocks every attack the nurses throw at her and lands a hard punch to the younger nurse's jaw that causes her to spin around from the impact. 

“let my friends go or you two are gonna need a real doctor!” toni yells. 

the older nurse charges at her and toni flips backwards, landing a kick under her jaw and sends her to the ground. 

cheryl runs up and places her foot on her neck and points the gun right at her face. 

“don’t move! one blast of holy water and it’s all over!”

the younger nurse charges at toni again, and toni blurs away, jumps and pushes her foot off of a wall and flips over the nurse. however, due to her hunger and the fact that she’s not a full vampire, causes her to tire quickly. she bends over, leaning her hands on her knees and breathes heavily. 

“you’re not a real vampire yet.” the younger nurse notices. “and by the way. you smell like junk food.”

“when i… catch my breath… you are so dead!”

the nurse smiles maniacally and blurs towards toni. she spins her around and holds her by her neck. toni tries to fight out but her grip is too strong. 

“what now? fledgling,” the nurse taunts. 

meanwhile inside the truck, kevin pulls out wires, trying to find a way to get the doors open. he takes two separate wires in his fingers. 

“ah, good thing one of us is a- ahhhhh!” kevin connects the wires and ends up electrocuting himself.

back out to the battlefield; the nurse held to the ground by cheryl's foot closes her eyes and breathes deeply. 

“what is that? is that your blood?” she asks. 

“yeah,” cheryl pulls the cotton ball out of her pocket and throws it on the nurse who grabs it immediately. “and that’s all you’re going to get.”

the nurse puts the cotton ball up to her nose and breaths in with a moan. 

“you don’t know what you’re full of do you?”

“what?”

“you’re blood is h-deficient. it’s one in a million. a single pint is worth more than everything in that truck.” 

cheryl looks at the truck then over to toni who is still being held by her throat, before looking back down at the nurse. 

“how about a trade? one pint of my blood in exchange for our friends. _and_ you leave riverdale forever.”

“why bargain when we can just take it!” the younger nurse says. 

“done!” the older nurse cuts her off. 

“what?”

“valerie, why must you do everything the hard way? if you let me up i’ll get to work.”

“uh, yeah, how about hell no! i don’t trust you or your little vamp partner. if my blood is coming out, toni is doing it.”

“what? ch-cheryl i-”

“toni. i trust you.” cheryl looks at her with all the confidence she can possess and toni nods hesitantly. 

“valerie, let her go.” the older nurse commands and valerie huffs before releasing her grip on toni. 

the older nurse informes toni where the equipment is and she talks her through the entire thing, all while valerie leans against the truck with a pout. 

toni breathes in and out slowly, trying to control her hunger despite how good cheryl smells. but the way cheryl is looking at her, with such soft eyes, helps her push her hunger down, and before they know it, toni is holding a pint of cheryl’s blood in a bag. 

“done. now take it and get out of here,” toni tosses the bag to the older nurse who catches it before it is immediately snatched from the younger nurse. 

“you’re a walking blood bank kid,” valerie says as she sniffs the bag. “what’s stopping us from making more withdrawals?”

“oh i don’t know, how about this,” cheryl says as she pulls her phone out of her pocket. “one click and i email the details of your entire scam to every school in a thousand-mile radius. no one will roll out the blood-red carpet for you again.”

the nurses cross their arms just as kevin appears from around the truck, holding a remote in his hand. 

“behold! the power of technology!” he pulls the antenna out and points it at the truck. “ _doorus openus!”_ he says as he waves the antenna in a circle and presses the button on the remote, but nothing happens. “aw man.”

the nurses roll their eyes and walk over the doors, pulling the latch to open them. 

but toni, cheryl and kevin’s jaws drop when they see archie and fangs in the middle of a make out. fangs quickly pulls away in shock while archie just looks smug. 

“this isn’t what it looks like,” fangs says quickly. “he would not stop talking. kissing him was way less painful.” he tries to convince as they climb out of the truck. 

“ugh, i’m surrounded by vampire noobs,” valerie groans.

“let’s get out of here,” the older nurse shuts the door and they make their way around the front. 

“so uh… you two need a ride home?” toni asks. 

“uh… nah, we’re good. it’s nice out and we could use the uh… flight practice.” fangs says as he smiles at archie before walking away. archies eyes light up with a giddy smile and a thumbs up and he quickly follows after fangs. 

however when they walk around the truck they hear a loud slap and archie yelling ‘ow!’

“ya know… something tells me archie wasn’t trying too hard to open that door. and somehow i’m a little jealous.” kevin says as he clenches his jaw.

cheryl just rolls her eyes at kevin. “doorus openus?” she scoffs. 

“stupidest doofus,” toni adds and kevin drops his shoulders in defeat as the two girls laugh at him. 

-

“you know we could make a fortune selling your blood!” kevin exclaims as he and cheryl walk up to the school the following morning. 

“no, absolutely not! no more needles.”

“what if there’s a spell to magically remove it from you without any pain?”

“ _you_ doing a spell on me? i’d rather take the needles. i haven’t forgotten about how you turned me into a werewolf a couple weeks ago.” cheryl laughs with a shake of her head.

“how many times do i have to apologize for that!” kevin whines.

just then toni walks up to them with a smile on her face and her favorite sunglasses covering her eyes. 

“hey toni! no chips today?” cheryl greets her. 

“yeah, the whole bloodlust thing was intense, but i’m all good now that the blood drive is over. besides, kevin’s grandma dropped off a new supply of blood substitute so i should be good for a while… but… you still smell really good to me.”

“heh, thanks… you too.” cheryl chuckles, fighting back a blush. even though the compliment was referring to her blood she still felt warm inside at toni’s words. 

“i almost feel bad that fangs went home empty handed, especially after being trapped with archie that long.”

“mmm...somehow i doubt he’ll go hungry for long,” kevin says with a raise of his eyebrows. 

-

fangs kneeled down on his knees and opened his refrigerator, revealing a fridge full of blood bags. he took one out with a smile and started to drink from it just as there was a bang on his back door. 

“come on, let me in!” archie yells. 


	5. part one: chapter four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on season one episode six: doug the vampire hunter
> 
> a supernatural hunter comes to riverdale and cheryl’s main priority is protecting toni.

cheryl stares at the tv in boredom. she’s sitting at the end of the couch, her elbow resting on the arm rest, her head laying in her hand, her lips pursed in a bored pout. she, kevin, archie and jason are currently watching some stupid show called  _ the scare finder, _ about this lame guy named fp falconhawk who hunts monsters and ghosts _ a _ nd other supernaturals. 

she has no idea why they were so obsessed with the show. it’s not like he ever found anything. 

“fp is fearless. he literally fears nothing!” kevin gasps as he leans forward in his seat, laser focused on the show. 

cheryl rolls her eyes and lolls her head back against the couch. 

“ _ hey everyone! we are now live and standing outside of the door of this years ‘friday with fp’ winner. this superfan gets to hang with me and go on a scarefind of their own in their hometown.”  _ the man announces from the tv. 

suddenly the doorbell rings and kevin and archie both groan in annoyance. 

“who the hell could that be,  _ now?”  _ archie complains. 

“i’ll get it, losers.” cheryl rolls her eyes as she stands up and makes her way towards the front door. 

“whoever won this contest is so lucky. i already hate them.” kevin whines as he stares at the tv with an annoyed expression. 

but as they stare at the screen and the door opens and they see cheryl's face, kevin, archie and jason’s jaws drop in shock. 

“ _ hey! what’s up! my name is fp falconhawk and you are this month's winner!”  _ he yells on the tv but they can also hear him from the front door. 

“cheryl! you’re never gonna believe who won the contest.”

“are you jason?” fp says with a goofy smile and cheryl just stares at him in pure shock. 

-

cheryl, kevin, archie and jason sit on jason’s bed as fp admires his posters and toys. 

“hey nice poster, jason,” fp grins as he stares at a poster of himself. 

“thanks!” the little boy says excitedly. 

“hey you even have my action figure! now tiny fp can kill the tiny vampire.” fp says as he sets the action figure next to jason’s vampire action figure from  _ dusk. _

cheryl is suddenly hit with a realization and her eyes widen. she pulls archie and kevin closer to whisper to them. 

“guys, i know you think this is awesome! but this is also a complete disaster.”

“what? name five reasons why?” kevin scoffs. 

“fp hunts paranormal shit. archie is a vampire. fangs is vampire.  _ toni _ is a vampire. and you’re an idiot.”

“five.” kevin mumbles. 

“you have to stay away from fp, archie. it’s too risky.”

“no way. i was a geek before i became a hot, buff vampire. no way am i passing this chance up.”

“okay fine. i guess we’re hanging out with fp.”

“why you? i thought you hated his show.” kevin asks.

“i do, but if you think i trust you two to keep him away from toni-” cheryl says forcefully and kevin gives her a pointed look. 

“aw look at you protecting your crush.” kevin grins and cheryl rolls her eyes and smacks him on the back of his head. 

-

toni’s was standing outside of riverdale high, sipping from a juice box through a bendy straw. she sucks in a deep red color through the straw and grimaces at the taste. 

“what are you, five? what’s up with the juice box?” fangs asks as he approaches her. 

“it’s a new blood substitute kevin’s grandma gave me.”

fangs takes the juice box from her and sniffs the straw, scrunching his face at the smell. 

“it smells like ass. how is it?” he says as he hands it back to her. 

“it’s not bad, aside from the fact that kevin’s grandma told me it may cause nausea, dizziness, and bloating. so i hate it.” toni sighs. 

“i know you think feeding on humans is  _ wrong…  _ but do you really wanna risk bloating?” fangs smirks and chuckles as he walks away. 

toni purses her lips with a whine, and sticks the straw in her mouth as she heads into the school. 

just as she walks into the building, a mail looking truck, painted black with the ‘ _ scare finder’  _ logo on the side pulls up in front of the school. fp hops out of the front seat and opens the back door as archie, kevin and cheryl hop out. 

“i can't believe we got to ride to school in the vamp camper.” archie smiles excitedly.

“i can't believe i didn’t just walk to school. this is so lame.” cheryl mumbles. 

“alright. let’s hit it!” fp says and the four of them enter the school. 

they barely make it halfway down the main hallway before a group of students approach them asking for autographs. 

“alright alright, don’t crowd him! one line!” archie yells at the students waving notebooks and paper in fp’s face.

cheryl rolls her eyes and looks down the hallway and sees toni, accompanied by fangs, waving her over. 

“hey, why don’t you all head to chemistry class.” cheryl suggests. kevin’s squints his eyes in confusion but cheryl nods her head towards toni and he nods in understanding and leads fp and archie away. 

“hey toni.”

“this new blood is awful!” she whines immediately. “i need a new  _ new _ one.”

“listen, you two need to stay lowkey. that’s fp falconhawk.”

“wait, that night vision poser from that show kevin and archie like? please he’s a fraud.” toni scoffs. 

“yeah, and you should be worried about _ him _ . if he gets in  _ my _ way, he’s lunch.” fangs adds. 

“listen, i know. but just to be on the safe side, stay out of his way. i don’t want you getting hurt.” cheryl says softly as she looks at toni just as softly, and she sees fangs smirking beside toni. “i- i mean, either of you. archie too...kinda.”

toni just smirks and she and fangs walk the opposite direction down the hall.

_ smooth cheryl.  _

_ - _

after the bell rings cheryl sneaks into her classroom to see fp in the front giving a speech on how to find scares. she rolls her eyes at how attentive the class seems to be. 

_ am i the only one who can’t stand this guy? _

“rule number one: scares don’t find themselves. but you can bring them to you if you have the right bait: aloe, musk, saffron and pepper. a recipe for ghost action.” 

“yo fp!” kevin calls from where he sat in the back. “you should spike it with vervain. it also makes for sweet vampire repellent… i- so i've heard.” kevin explains as he holds up a small brown velvet sack that he dug out of his backpack.

archie, who is sitting next to him, gets a whiff and falls out of his chair and kevin quickly puts it away. 

“woah. you’re not one of them, are you, man?” fp jokes causing the entire class to laugh, including cheryl who laughs awkwardly and kevin who laughs forcibly.

archie stands up and looks around the room nervously before laughing over dramatically. cheryl gets up from her seat and walks over to him. 

“hey arch, i bet fp would love a latte. it’s the kind of thing a great assistant would fetch. i think the coffee shop on the other side of town has some.”

“oh yeah! i’ll go find one! thanks!” archie says and he pats cheryl's shoulder before leaving the classroom. 

-

after school fp takes cheryl and kevin out to his camper to show them some of the cool items he has collected. 

“check this stuff out,” fp grunts as he lifts a large duffel bag and sets it on the ground. he sits on the step behind the truck and digs through the bag, naming items as he pulls them out one by one. “sasquatch footprint. a jar of ectoplasm. a werewolf claw.” he says and he tosses the claw to cheryl. 

cheryl squeezes the claw in her hand and closes her eyes. she breathes deeply as she channels the source of her powers and... sees nothing. 

“are you sure it's real? it should have reverted back to human form after it was cut off.” cheryl states, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at this poser. 

“i mean that’s what wikipedia says, right?” kevin says when he notices the way fp’s face fell. 

“wikipedia,” fp scoffs as he snatches the claw away from cheryl. “check this out,” fp says as he grabs a device that looks like a walkie talkie and tosses it to kevin. 

“woah! is this an undead detector?” he gasps as he admires it. 

“oh yeah!” fp nods.

kevin turns the device on and it starts to beep slowly. kevin looks at it shockingly as fp’s eyes go wide.

“it’s picking something up! something close! gear up!” fp shouts as he runs into the truck as the beeping gets faster. 

just then archie appears behind cheryl and kevin, holding a cup of coffee, and the device goes crazy as kevin points it at archie. 

“fuck kevin, give it!” cheryl shouts frantically as she grabs the device from him. she throws it on the ground causing it to shatter, but more importantly, the beeping to stop. fp runs out of the truck having heard the slam. “oops. sorry, i accidentally dropped it.” cheryl shrugs.

“aw man… that’s okay. hey bud, where’ve you been?” fp asks archie. 

“scoring you a latte.” he says with a smile as he hands the cup to fp. 

“ah thanks!” fp says and he takes a sip. “alright, let’s roll!”

cheryl pats kevin’s back as he climbs into the truck and blocks archie’s path before he could also. 

“fp... loves scones.”

“oh okay! i’m on it!” archie nods and blurs away. 

-

cheryl and kevin were sitting at cheryl’s kitchen island as fp stirred away at the pot on the stove. her phone starts to ring and cheryl’s eyes light up when she see’s toni’s name. 

“hey toni, what’s up,” she says as she hops off the stool and walks into the living room. 

_ “cheryl, this blood tastes like shit and it's actually making me mad.” _ toni gruffs into the phone.

“i’m sorry, kevin’s grandma went out of town for the weekend.”

“ _ well i guess everyone wants me to go eat rats again. old rat-biter toni! fine! i'll be in the graveyard eating rats like a loser!” _ toni shouts angrily and hangs up.

cheryl didn’t take her outburst personally, she knows it’s just the hunger talking. she shoves her phone back into her pocket and walks back over to the island as fp turns around with a pot in his hands.

“this is my special falconhawk forest fry. this is what i eat whenever i camp out in the woods, searching for scares. canned spam, canned beans, and canned pineapple chunks.” he says as he piles on a spoonful or brown looking goop onto cheryl and kevin’s plate. cheryl looks at it with a disgusted expression as kevin digs in.

“wow. that's surprisingly good. and the pineapple is so sweet.”

cheryl turns to give kevin that same look of disgust as he goes in for another bite.

“well eat up! we’ll need our energy for an all night stakeout! we’re gonna go out and find some scares.”

“cool where?” kevin asks.

“rule number six: where bodies lay, scares will play. we’re going to the graveyard.”

“no!” cheryl shouts immediately.

“why not?” fp asks, his brows furrowed in confusion. 

“i uh-” 

_ because my  _ **_vampire_ ** _ crush is in the graveyard. _

“uh be- because… my house is haunted.”

_ the things i do for this girl. _

-

toni hides behind a tombstone as she eyes a rat crawling through the grass, just waiting for the right time to attack. the rat stops in his tracks and toni hops out but before she could snag it the rat runs away.

“fuck,” she grunts as she leans up agaist a tombstone, sighing in frustration. she pulls a juicebox out of her pocket and stabs the top with the straw causing it to snap. she frustratingly throws the juice box and it's caught by fangs.

“you know you should recycle instead of littering in our green spaces.”

“sorry, this blood substitute is making me nuts...and slow. i can’t even catch a fucking rat.”

“go bug the magic geek! i’m sure he can doctor you up something new.”

“i guess. i have nothing to lose.”

-

cheryl, wearing what she assumes to be a permanent annoyed expression, looks around her living room as she and kevin stand in the opening. there’s red lasers zig-zagging all around her living room. 

“how come you never told me your house is haunted?” kevin pouts as he crosses his arms over his chest. cheryl looks at him dumbfoundedly.

“it's not, dummy. i just said it was because toni is in the graveyard looking for a snack.”

“ohhh. aww if toni doesn’t fall in love with you after this-”

“shut up!” cheryl smacks kevin in his arm, just as fp’s phone rings.

“boo! scared ya!” the man shouts into the phone and cheryl fights the urge to roll her eyes.”oh hey alice! how’s the best producer in the world? hold on! i'm gonna let you guys listen in on some show business talk.” fp hold his phone up as he puts it on speaker.

“ _ jones! the ratings on your last episode were absolute garbage. you’re putting people to sleep! it’s all ‘oh my, the floor made a creak ah! oh no, i hope that table didn’t move!’”  _ the woman yells sarcastically into the phone and fp’s face slowly falls. “ _ unless the scare finder actually fucking  _ **_finds_ ** _ something this week, you can kiss your show goodbye!”  _ and the woman hangs up.

“your show’s in trouble? but it’s awesome! the last episode was sick.” kevin says.

“it was weak! it’s always weak! i’ve never even actually seen anything!” fp sighs as he flops down into a chair.

_ wow, at least he knows his show sucks,  _ cheryl thinks as she tries to fight back a laugh.

“and this ghost grid has never even found a ghost,” fp say as he lifts a small remote and presses a button that turns the lasers off.

“why’d that lady call you jones?” kevin asks. 

“my real name is forsythe jones. fp falconhawk is made up.” fp mumbles. 

kevin runs his fingers through his hair in pure shock and disbelief. 

suddenly the doorbell rings and cheryl walks over to answer it, while fp pulls out a large camera from his bag. 

“that’s probably archie.” she says but when she opens the door she gasps as toni walks into the house. 

“i need blood. help me!” she says as she grabs cheryl's wrists. 

“toni, what are you doing here? fp is gonna see you!” cheryl whispers, concern striking her face. 

“oh no! i’m so scared!” toni says sarcastically as she walks further into the home.

“what good is a camera that sees vampires, when there are no vampires to-” fp looks through his camera and points it at toni who glows green through his viewfinder. “holy shit! a vampire!”

any color cheryl has in her face drains in fear while toni looks completely unbothered. 

“what? no! no, this is just a regular girl, who’s now leaving,” cheryl says shakily as she tries to push toni towards the front door, who fights her off. 

“oh come on! give me a break!” she says angrily before snapping her fangs out and snarling at fp. she knows she probably shouldn’t have done that but she’s hungry and angry.

“toni, what the hell!” cheryl shouts.

“a vampire! a vampire!” fp yells as he drops his camera and runs away. 

“aw, looks like i broke your hero. now can you or kevin science me up some blood, please!”

“toni, he saw you!” cheryl says, her eyes wide in panic. 

“yeah, and he really looked like he was gonna do something about it. that guy is a total poser.” toni says sarcastically, crossing her arms.

just then, an arrow flies right past toni’s face and lands in the pillar behind her. her jaw drops in shock as she turns to look at fp down the hall, wearing a helmet with a camera attached to it and holding a crossbow. 

“a real vampire. the haters on my blog can eat it!” he yells as he charges towards roni who runs out of the house. 

“this is exactly what i didn’t want to happen. she’s in trouble.” cheryl says, her heart beating rapidly in fear.

“yeah… doug  _ is  _ awesome!” kevin says with a smile and cheryl fights the urge to smack him. 

just then, archie blurs into the home, holding a pastry in his hand. 

“i got it! where... did fp go?” archie looks around confusingly. 

“he’s chasing toni with a crossbow.” kevin says nonchalantly. 

“okay you stupid assholes, we have to find toni.”

“hey! don’t call us stupid, your girlfriend is the one who flashed her fangs at fp,” kevin bit back.

“she’s not my girlfriend!... yet-” she mumbled quietly. “look, are you gonna help me or not!”

“yeah, yeah, let’s go.” kevin says and the three of them leave the house. 

the two boys follow cheryl into fp’s truck and she turns on his monitor to pick up his helmet camera. 

“this episode is going to be awesome,” kevin whispers, causing cheryl to glare at him. 

“are you kidding me? this is an actual disaster.” cheryl hisses.

“alright now, let’s not say things we can’t take back.”

“oh shut the fuck up archie!” cheryl barks. 

“don’t take it personally arch, she's just scared cause the girl she’s madly in love with is being hunted down.” kevin says and archie chuckles.

“can you both just shut up, please.” 

the boys close their mouths as they look on the monitor to see fp walking down the sidewalk, the camera on his helmet pointing at himself. kevin turns the audio on the switch board below the monitor. 

_ “okay jones, we’re going live with this one, but it better be gold or your ass is finished.”  _ alice, fp’s producer’s voice comes through. 

_ “this is huge, alice. the world's first televised vampire kill. this bloodsucker is dead!” _

“guys, we gotta do something!” cheryl says, her face stricken with fear. 

“do you think fp would actually… kill toni?” kevin asks nervously. 

“even if he doesn’t the whole world is gonna know toni is a vampire. then this town would be crawling with guys like fp. plus, government scientists.”

“what do we do? fp is our hero, and jason’s. i don’t want to use my powers to rip his souls from his mortal body” kevin says. 

“good thing you’re bad at magic. but i don’t wanna hurt him either.” archie adds. 

“dammit, you’re right. jason would lose it if we killed his hero.”

“so what do we do?” archie asks. 

cheryl thinks for awhile before-

“i may have an idea. if fp wants a show about vampires, we’ll give him one.”

-

toni hides behind a dumpster in an alleyway as she watches fp sneak around, his crossbow drawn. she hates to admit it but she actually feels nervous about getting caught. sure she could easily take him out but she’s tired and hungry. plus if he gets her on film her secret will be out for the world. 

suddenly she feels a gush of wind as fangs blurs to a stop next to her. 

“i can't believe you’re actually running from this loser. why don’t you just take him out?”

“i’m too weak from this fake blood.” toni whines as she and fangs watch him dig around the garbage. 

toni’s phone vibrates in her pocket and she takes it out to see a text from cheryl. 

“it’s cheryl. meet me at the warehouse.” she reads the text out loud. “great, spock has a logical plan.”

“ew… you just made a  _ star trek  _ reference.” fangs scoffs.

“yeah… and  _ you _ recognized it.” toni smirks as fangs’ mouth opens and closes. 

“i uh… i gotta go… just- text me if you want me to eat this guy. good luck.” fangs says before he blurs away. and toni follows his league and makes her way towards the warehouse. 

meanwhile inside the warehouse, kevin sits against the wall as cheryl applies makeup to his face to make him look like a vampire, fake fangs already on his teeth. 

“this is the weirdest fight preparation ever.” kevin says. 

“we’re not actually gonna fight fp. he needs to think he’s wrong about what he saw. so we’re gonna put in a show like something out of those  _ dusk _ novels.” cheryl explains, already dressed as a werewolf.

“so you want me to pretend to be in love with toni? it would be a lot easier if she looked like fangs or was fangs. why not use archie?”

“cause you’re the theater guy, duh. oh, here comes toni.” cheryl says as the pink haired girl walks up to them. “go get into position.” she says and kevin and archie both take off. 

“hey.” she greats as toni stops in front of her.

“i’d totally laugh at your outfit if i didn’t want to bite someone’s head off right now.”

“okay…” cheryl chuckles nervously as she digs into her backpack to pull out a tiara and a fake pair of fangs. “here. put these on.”

“you know i have my own, right?”

“yeah but they need to be fake. trust me.”

“cheryl, what are we doing?”

“we’re roll playing! follow me.” cheryl says with a smile. 

“okay, now i’m scared.” she says as she follows cheryl. 

-

  
  


toni, cheryl, kevin and archie hide behind some shelves as they wait for fp to arrive. within a few minutes he slowly walks into the warehouse holding his weapon up.

“i’ve tracked the throat muncher into this abandoned warehouse. clearly ground zero for local vampire activity. well sorry bat, you’re not the only bird in town anymore.” they hear him say as they watch him scope the place out. 

“now kevin,” cheryl whispers and kevin stands to his feet, hidden behind some boxes. 

“ _ triggerus chillius.” _ kevin says and he pushes his hand out as a light blue smoke flies from the palm of his hands and covers the trigger of fp’s crossbow. 

cheryl plays a howling sound effect from her phone through her portable speaker, causing fp to look around, eyes alert, before cheryl walks out into the open. 

“holy shit! a werewolf!” fp yells in shock. he holds his crossbow up and tries to shoot cheryl but his trigger is frozen solid. “frozen?”

“you’re trespassing, human.” cheryl growls.

“maybe i can gain her trust,” fp mumbles into his camera. “i’m tracking a vampire! your eternal foe!” he shouts to cheryl. 

“you’re tracking my forbidden girlfriend!” cheryl yells angrily. 

“and my future wife.” kevin says, his voice low and smooth as he also appears. 

“another vampire! well at least it’s a fair fight now.” 

“i am fangstorm, the vampire. if you have hurt my love then i will hurt you.” kevin growls. 

“hey! ella prefers me! jack, the werewolf with a good heart!” cheryl hisses at kevin. 

“i think i’ve stumbled- i uh- i mean  _ hunted  _ my way into a supernatural love triangle.”

cheryl had to fight back the urge to roll her eyes at just how dumb and gullible this man is. 

“ella and i are arranged to be married. a traditional that has lasted a lifetime!” kevin says as he and cheryl walk in circles, challengingly. 

“no please! stop this madness!” toni says as she runs out wearing her fake fangs and the tiara on her head. 

“i’ve been tracking a vampire princess?” fp mumbles. “i would’ve thought vampire royalty would be better dressed.”

“i heard that you jerk!” toni shouts. “fangstorm, jack, please, don’t make me choose between love and the ancient tradition of our people.... this is so stupid.” toni whispers the last part to cheryl. 

“your character wouldn’t say that.” cheryl whispers back. 

“i, fangstorm, challenge this weak little werewolf to a battle for the princesses heart.” kevin says as he starts to back up towards the shelves where archie is hiding. 

“i got an idea, i’ll throw you at her!”

“what? no, it’ll hurt-”

but before kevin could finish his protest, archie grabs him and launches him towards cheryl. he crashes into her and they fall onto the ground. they roll around and growl and hiss at each other as they fake wrestle. 

“now, toni.” cheryl mumbles and toni steps around them and jogs up to fp. 

“please mr. falconhawk, i beg you. you can’t let them kill each other. you’re the only human who can help.” toni pleads. 

“hmm… do i put my hunter's instincts aside and play peacemaker. or do i bag myself a vampire on live tv and write my name in the history books?” fp frowns as he thinks on it. “yeah, i’ll do that one.” 

fp uses his fist to break the ice around his trigger and turns around and points the crossbow at toni. toni lands a kick right into his stomach and sends the man flying back and crashing into the shelves right next to cheryl and kevin. 

“toni, did you have to kick him so hard!” kevin yells. 

“kevin shut up!” cheryl whispers. 

“kevin? cheryl? what is this!?” fp asks, his brows furrowed in confusion.

cheryl and kevin just share a look and just smile awkwardly. 

-

back at cheryl's house, she, kevin, toni and archie, watch awkwardly as fp packs his bag up and throws it into the back of his truck. 

“sorry, fp, but… when you showed up we just thought it would be cool to be in tv.” cheryl explains, almost feeling bad about ruining this man's career, even if he did try to kill toni. but she knows how much jason loves him and finding out his favorite show has been canceled will crush him. 

“i was live! i’m ruined! how could you do that to a guy? i just wanted to make a fan’s day.”

“and kill a vampire.” toni interjects, not feeling an ounce of remorse for the man. 

“yeah, maybe. on camera. instead i get punk’d by a  _ dusk  _ convention.”

“sorry fp, we just-” kevin starts before he’s interrupted by fp. 

“why would you want to destroy your own hero? just to get on tv! dressing up as monsters? rigging my camera so this girl would show up as a vampire? kids weren’t like this before youtube. i think i need a rule number eleven. some scares just aren’t worth finding.” fp says sadly before he shuts the back doors of his truck and walks around to climb into the front seat. 

the four of them stood there and watched as fp drove away. 

“i can't believe we ruined fp falconhawk’s career.” kevin says somberly.

“i never liked him anyway, but i almost feel bad. jason’s gonna be crushed.”

“i’m sorry guys.” toni says as she looks at the sad faces of kevin and archie.

“i can’t... i think i’m just gonna go home and go to bed.” 

“you can even sleep, archie.” toni says.

“oh yeah…  _ ugh  _ could this day get any worse!” 

-

the next day, the four of them and jason were all sitting in cheryl’s living room watching a new show, starting none other than fp falconhawk. 

_ “riverdale. the boring town with only one high school and luke warm lattes. no scares to be found here. only lies and pranks. the only reason to visit this place is if you wanna have your show canceled too.” _

“well he’s not bitter at all,” toni scoffs sarcastically. 

“at least we got on tv.” kevin says as they watch the clip of their role play that fp caught on camera. 

“ _ but this isn’t the end of fp falconhawk. starting next month i could be coming to your town to pull a prank on you and your friends! get ready for fp falconhawk: prank finder!”  _ the mad on tv yells as a series of clips of him pulling pranks on people run. 

“cool, i can’t wait to watch fp pull pranks on people.” archie says excitedly. 

“as long as he stays away from us.” cheryl deadpans. 

“well, it’s getting late, i think i’m gonna head home. cheryl, walk me to my car?” toni says as she stands from the couch and extends her hand to the girl. 

“oh, sure.” cheryl perks up as she takes toni’s hand and they walk out of the house. toni stops on the porch and turns to face cheryl. 

“i just wanted to say thank you.”

“oh you don’t have to thank me.” cheryl says shyly as she curls a piece of hair behind her ear with her free hand. her heart pounding at the fact that her other hand is currently in toni’s

“no, i really do. kevin told me what you did. you hung out with fp falconhawk even though you hate him, just to make sure he didn’t come near me. you even came up with an entire rouse just to protect my secret. you have no idea how much that means to me.”

“it was the least i could do.”

“well i really appreciate it.” toni leans in and presses a kiss to cheryl’s cheek. “bye, cheryl.” toni smiles as she backs away, disconnecting their hands as she walks down the steps of the porch and to her car.

cheryl was frozen. the spot on her cheek that toni’s lips just touched felt tingly and she felt a warmth expand through her body and felt butterflies in her stomach. after toni drives away cheryl lifts her to touch her cheek. she bites her bottom lip as she smiles giddily. 

_ oh cheryl, you’ve got it bad.  _


	6. part one: chapter five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is based on season one episode nine: smells like trouble.
> 
> cheryl has trouble asking toni out so kevin creates a love potion to help give her a boost. but, his plan goes awry when the entire school gets spelled.

“i’m not gonna do it kevin.” cheryl says to kevin’s face on her computer screen as she dresses for school that starts in an hour.

“ _aw come on, i’m trying to help.”_

“i don’t need help. look, i have on my lucky necklace, a hot outfit, and i have a bottle of toni’s favorite body spray.”

“ _you have all of that but you have_ **_no_ ** _game.”_

“and you do?” cheryl scoffs.

“ _cheryl you’ve been crushing on toni since the first day of school and haven't made a single move. what have you got to lose?”_

cheryl groans and rolls her eyes before sitting down in front of her computer.

“alright fine.”

“ _alright now, pretend i’m toni and practice how you’re going to ask her out.”_ kevin says as he puts a blonde wig on his head. 

“where did you get that wig?” 

“ _stole it from my moms closet. now go.”_

“alright. uh... hey toni, how’s it going?”

“ _oh hey cheryl, it’s going good.”_ kevin says, raising his voice an octave.

“i was just wondering if you’d like to go to the movies with me this saturday?”

“ _just you and me? like a date? hmm… no.”_

“ _kevin!_ i thought you were supposed to be helping me?”

_“i am. what if she says no?”_

“then i pick my pride up off the floor and walk away.”

_“well yeah, if you ask her like that. don’t be so dry. make her feel like the only girl in the world.”_

“alright uh… i would really love to go on a date with you. i feel like you and i have this… unexplainable connection. i feel like it was fate that you were literally thrown on my doorstep.”

“ _wow, cheryl. that’s beautiful. if you ask her like that there’s no way she’ll say no.”_

“i hope you’re right.”

just then there was a knock on the door and clifford walks inside.

“hey cheryl, morning kevin.”

“ _morning mr. blossom.”_

“your mother already took jason to school, i’m just reminding you that your mother and i have dinner tonight with my colleague and his wife, and jason will be spending the night at a friend's house. can you call him later and tell him that his cage thing from that warlock movie he loves just arrived, but that the key won't be here until early tomorrow morning.”

_“the cage of eternity? awesome! ask jason if i can play with it too.”_ kevin says excitedly as cheryl turns to look at him with squinted eyes. 

-

after arriving at school kevin walks cheryl to her locker. she put her things inside before taking out the bottle of body spray from her backpack, giving herself a few spritz.

“why do all girls' perfume smell like candy?” kevin says, scrunching his face at the strong scent.

“i don’t know, but it’s toni’s favorite so hopefully it’s attractive. alright… here goes nothing. wish me luck.” cheryl says as she places the spray on the top shelf of her locker and walks down the hall in search of toni.

kevin leans up against cheryl’s locker as the strong smell wafts around him. he suddenly gets an idea and digs into his backpack for his spell book. he flips through the pages until he reaches a page towards the middle of the book, and his eyes light up. 

“a love potion. bingo! i’m about to increase her chances by a hundred percent… and maybe mine.” kevin cheers to himself. he opens cheryl's locker, already knowing her combination, and retrieves the bottle of body spray. he reads the list of ingredients and heads to the science room to collect them before walking into the student lounge. 

kevin focuses hard as he adds each new ingredient to the body spray. he uses a small dropper to add the last ingredient before looking down at his spell book. 

“alright… _medicadus armanak slagor slagan!”_ he utters quietly before shooting out a light from his hand into the body spray. it glows light purple before settling and kevin claps in celebration. 

“hell yeah. an entire team of chemists can’t do the job of… well… _me.”_ kevin smiles smugly to himself. he grabs a small strip of paper that reads ‘ _dusk’_ and tapes it to the bottle over the original logo. 

-

kevin was at his locker in between classes when cheryl walks up, her lips pursed in a pout. she drops her backpack to the floor and slams her body against the locker with a whine. 

“strike out?” kevin asks. 

“chickened out.” 

“that was my second guess. but i had a feeling you would so i made this.” kevin says as he reaches into his locker and pulls out the body spray. he holds in the air and shakes with a smirk. 

“my body spray?”

“not anymore. now it’s a love potion. just spray some of this on toni and she’ll be all over you. i spelled it so it only works for us.”

“kevin, you can always resort to mag-”

“shh shh, your girl is coming.” he says and points down the hall as toni and fangs walk through the door and head towards them. “watch this. i’ll have fangs on his knees for me… i- not like that.” he whispers to cheryl as the two vamps get closer. “hey good looking! what do ya say?” kevin says as he flicks his head up and leans his hand on the locker. 

“drop dead geek?” fangs responds with a chuckle. 

“easy babe, easy.”

“nothing personal, i just don’t hang with dorks.” fangs says as they walk past them. 

“that’s too bad. i wanted to see if you wanted to try this new… dusk cologne.” kevin says and fangs stops in his tracks and snaps his head around. “yeah, it’s supposed to make even the undead smell heavenly. wanna try.”

“uh, absolutely.” fangs says as he takes the bottle from kevin and immediately sprays himself three times with it. toni, standing right next to him, inhales the scent and they both breathe deeply as the spell takes effect. 

fangs looks to kevin and toni looks to cheryl. toni jogs up to her with a giggle and grabs her hands as fangs leans his arm against the locker right next to kevin.

“hey there handsome.” fangs says smoothly and kevin is actually shocked the spell worked. 

“you’re talking to me… in school…”

“there’s other things i’d like to do in school.” and before kevin could question him, fangs grips his shirt and pulls him forward, planting a firm kiss to his lips. 

cheryl’s jaw drops. 

“cheryl stop staring at them, you’re gonna make your girlfriend jealous.” toni says as she points to herself. 

“g-girlfriend?”

this time toni is the one who grips cheryl's shirt and pulls her in for a kiss. cheryl eyes widen and she gasps before she utterly melts into the kiss. her first kiss with toni. part of her hates that toni is spelled right now and it’s not really her, but the other part of her is reveling in the feeling of toni’s lips on hers. they’re so soft. but all too soon it ends as toni pulls away with a smack. cheryl feels like she’s floating, as toni wraps her arms around her waist and stares at her like she’s the only girl in the world. 

“you know what i love,” fangs says to kevin, pulling cheryl back down to earth. “all your striped polo shirts. they just scream _i’m good at calculus.”_ fangs admires with a goofy grin. 

“he actually is good at calculus.” cheryl says shakily, still not used to the feeling of toni attached to her like this. 

“that is so hot.”

“and your hair, is so beautiful, so soft and lucious.” toni coos as she runs her fingers through cheryl's hair, scratching at her scalp, and the redhead has to fight the urge to bite her lip at the feeling. 

suddenly the bell rings and both toni and fangs make pouting noises. 

“aww we have to get to class…” toni whines. “will you miss me?” she asks with puppy dog eyes and cheryl just nods furiously with a smile. 

“and i’ll miss you, cutie.” fangs says as he grips the back of kevin’s neck before the two vampires reluctantly walk away. 

but before they get too far, fangs turns back around. 

“oops, almost forgot… here you go.” fangs smirks as he tosses kevin the bottle of body spray. it’s a little short and kevin’s fumbles with it before it falls on the floor. the top pops off and some of the liquid spills onto the linoleum. 

“what just happened?” cheryl asks, shock written on her face. 

“i. kissed. fangs!” kevin cheers, grinning widely. 

“toni’s lips are so soft…” cheryl gasps airily as she leans against the locker. 

while kevin and cheryl were conversing in awe, the aroma from the body spray that fell onto the floor rose in a peach looking mist and into the air vent. they were unaware that boys and girls were smelling it throughout the school. 

-

during free period, kevin walks into the student lounge and up to the couch cheryl was sitting on. he hops over it and lands on the seat with a gasp.

“i just have one thing to say.”

“what?” 

“i am a genius. i did it! i tapped into the love center of their brains and now they love us!” kevin chuckled in celebration. 

“i kissed toni!” cheryl cheers, still in disbelief that it really happened. 

“and i kissed fangs. and he’s like the hottest guy in school!”

just then two guys and one girl walk up to the couch where they are sitting, all three of them smiling. 

“hey kevin.” one of the guys says. 

“hi cheryl.” the girl says, curling her hair behind her ear nervously. 

“your shirt looks so hot.” the other guy says to kevin. 

“thank... you?” kevin responds questioningly. 

“see ya.” the boys wave as they start to walk away. 

“call me sometime” the girl whispers to cheryl as they exit the student lounge. 

“what the hell?” cheryl asks, her brows furrowed in confusion. 

“i don’t know. those guys were on the wrestling team. they’ve never once glanced my way.”

cheryl looks around the lounge and notices four other female students, not so subtly checking her out. she turns back to face the front and thinks about how this could happen. then realization hits her like a truck. 

“kevin.” she says as she snacks his arm. “remember when fangs tossed you the body spray and you dropped it and it fell on the floor. what if somehow the smell spread through the school.”

“you know what this means? girls and guys are gonna be fighting over us. we used to be basically invisible and now we’re babe magnets.” kevin says, his eyebrows raising in excitement. 

“okay first of all, nobody, and i mean _nobody,_ says babe magnet anymore. second of all, i never wanted this kev. all i want is toni, not every girl in school.”

“oh come on cheryl. haven’t you ever wondered what it was like to be adored by everyone. this is our chance. i don’t know how long the spell lasts, i doubt it's forever, let’s milk this while we can.”

“i don’t know about this kevin,” cheryl says hesitantly.

-

after free period cheryl walks up toni who was at her locker. the pink haired girl gasps in excitement when she notices her walking up to her. 

“hey! my boo! i’m so happy to see you. i need to ask you something.” toni says, in a much more cheerful tone than usual.

“is it about that potion?” cheryl rushes out panically. 

“what potion?” toni squints her eyes. 

“oh uh, nevermind.” cheryl just shakes her head, feeling slight relief. 

“i need to know what your favorite color is.” toni says with a smile. 

“that’s easy, red.”

“mine too!” toni gasps. “i was thinking of getting us some matching cardigans. oh, and do you know what kevin’s favorite food is? some guys in my class have a huge crush on him and they want to surprise him.”

“he likes homemade pizza.”

“cool.”

“hey, would you uh… maybe wanna go out to dinner with me on saturday?” cheryl asks, her voice shaking with nerves as she scratches the back of her neck. 

“of course! cheryl… i love you. and i finally realize i always have. see?” toni opens her locker wider and cheryl sees three pictures of herself taped to purple construction paper with hearts drawn around them.

“wow,” she looks at them in awe as she rubs her finger over them. 

cheryl has never seen the inside of toni’s locker before but she knows for a fact that those pictures had to be in there before today, seeing as she had only gotten spelled a couple hours ago. this made cheryl believe that maybe toni really does have feelings for her, for real. 

just then the bell rings again and toni sighs again as she closes her locker. 

“okay, i’m off to math. bye.” toni leans in and presses a kiss to cheryl’s cheek before taking off down the hall. 

cheryl leans back against the lockers and watches her go with a glint in her eyes. 

-

kevin was sitting in class, bored out of his mind as their teacher wrote away on the white board. he hears a tapping from the door and looks up to see fangs in the small window waving. he waves back and fangs makes a kissy face at him before giving him suggestive eyes. 

“hey, miss fine, may i use the restroom?” kevin asks out loud. 

“no,” she answers without even turning around. 

kevin always hated her. 

he looks over at fangs and shakes his head. fangs pouts before he bites his teeth with a wink and walks away. 

after fangs leaves. one guy stands up from his seat in the back and drops a folded piece of paper on kevin’s desk. kevin opens it to see his name and number, before four more guys also drop their numbers on his desk. 

archie watches the whole thing from his spot one row back and one seat to the left of kevin, his jaw dropped in disbelief. and by the time class is over kevin received the phone numbers of almost every guy in class. 

when the bell rings, archie quickly leaves the classroom and turns down the hall. he speeds up to a jog when he sees cheryl’s red hair from down the hall. 

“hey cheryl, wait up!” he calls out as she slows to a stop next to her. “since when are kevin and fangs-”

but he’s interrupted as two girls run up to them. 

“cutie alert!” one girl squeals. “not you.” she says as she pushes archie to the side. she hands cheryl a single rose as the other girl holds a plate of cupcakes.

“hi cheryl, we made these in cooking class for you.” she says as she hands her the plate. and cheryl smiles somewhat awkwardly as she notices the heart sprinkles on top of the icing. 

“oh, thanks.” she chuckles. 

“well, see ya ‘round.” they say and they giggle excitedly as they walk away. one girl whispering _‘so cute’._ and cheryl watches them walk away, a small smile growing on her face. 

“wow. you and kevin… are on fire today.” archie says as he takes a cupcake and takes a huge bite into it.

cheryl just smiles as she puts the rose up to her nose to smell it. 

-

at the end of the school day, archie stands against the lockers as he watches cheryl and kevin walk down the hallway. cheryls fingers are interlaced with toni’s and kevin’s hand is wrapped around fangs’ waist, a muscular arm thrown over his shoulder. and they were being followed by a group of groupies, the girls staring at cheryl like she was a celebrity and the guys eyeing kevin, not even jealous that he was wrapped around fangs. 

“awesome.” archie whispers to himself as he pulls out his phone. he scrolls down and clicks on the contact he was looking for and puts the phone up to his ear. 

“ _hello.”_

“hey kevin’s grandma! it’s archie!”

“ _oh hey archie! how’s it hanging, bro?”_

“uh, good. it’s… good.” archie answers, his eyes squinting. “um, i was wondering if you had any of that magic potion left?”

“ _magic? what magic potion, dear?”_

“the potion you gave kevin and cheryl to make all the girls and guys fall in love with them.”

-

cheryl and kevin gasp as they collapse at cheryl's kitchen table, dropping all of the flowers, numbers, notes and deserts on the table. 

“wow, that was the best day ever!” kevin gasps. 

“i hate to say it but you were right. it felt nice being adored like that. especially by toni.”

“hello boys.” kevin’s grandma suddenly appears in the house and both of their smiles drop. 

“grandma? uh… would you like some chocolates,” kevin smiles sweetly as he holds up a box of chocolates.

“drop it, romeo. tweedledum already told me what you did.”

kevin looks at cheryl and shrugs innocently before his grandma points a finger at him and he confesses instantly. 

“i made a love potion and accidentally dropped it and now all the students at school love us.” he rushes out. 

“love potion? the one on page seventy two?” his grandma asks, her eyes widening.

“oh you know it? is that how you bagged grandpa?” 

“here’s the thing.” kevin’s grandma starts as she walks into the living room and grabs jason’s yo-yo off the coffee table. she holds it up by the string and swings it from side to side. “nature is all about balance. genius here upset the balance. you swung the pendulum all the way to goo-goo eyes and giggles. but when the pendulum swings back…” she swings the yo-yo to smack kevin in the forehead. 

“oww…”

“that’s what i’m talking about. the more those kids loved you the more they’re gonna hate you. now, how strong was that potion?”

“well… toni bought us matching cardigans.”

“yep, you’re toast.” kevin’s grandma smirks. 

“please don’t punish us again, grandma.” kevin whines. 

“oh you’ll get yours.” she chuckled. 

“i mean we’re already used to being rejected. how bad could it be.”

-

back at the school, in the home economics room, a guy slides his knife smoothly through the cooked brownie batter, creating perfect squares, when suddenly he pauses and his face falls. he holds the knife up in the air as his face contorts into pure anger.

he looks over to the other guy and the two girls who turned to face him, wearing the same look of anger. 

“i hate you, kevin!” he yells as he throws the knife across the room, landing right in between kevin’s eyes on the picture of him that they hung on the wall. “anyone know where cheryl lives?” he asked through clenched teeth and one of the girls nodded and they left the room.

-

cheryl and kevin were sitting on her couch, watching tv when suddenly they hear glass shattering. they both stand from the couch and walk into the hall to see what happened. 

“grandma?” kevin calls out, and there’s an answer but not from the person he called out to.

“hey!” the boy who complimented kevin’s shirt in the lounge walks down the hallway holding a baseball bat. “i was in the neighborhood, thought i might… swing by!” he swings the bat and both cheryl and kevin lean back to dodge it as the metal crashes through the vase sitting on the table by the front door.

“oh my God! grandma, call the police!” kevin shouts.

“oops, i can't find the phone… have a nice night.” she laughs before she leaves the home through the backdoor. 

the boy goes for another swing and this time they have to duck to avoid it. 

“go go go!” cheryl shouts as she opens the front door. they escape and cheryl quickly shuts the door behind them to buy some more time. however when they turn around and try to run off the porch their path is blocked by the two girls that gave cheryl the cupcakes and the other guy that flirted with kevin in the student lounge. each of them holding a different weapon. 

“who are you, like ninjas or something?” cheryl asks, breathing heavily in fear. 

“oh, you don’t recognize us from the yearbook. we’re from the martial arts club.” one of the girls says smugly was she tightens her grip on the chain she was holding, as she swings it around in figure eights 

“kevin you dumbass! you spelled martial arts experts!”

just then the front door opens and the other guy walks out, leaving them trapped. 

“wait, please! you liked my shirt,” kevin pleads. 

“that was before. now i just want to smash your face in!” he yells through clenched teeth as he swings the bat again, the both of them ducking to dodge the hit again. 

they run around the porch swing and the guy swings his bat at the wicker seat. 

“is this one of those… teach us a lesson things? ‘cause we get it!” kevin yells as the guy swings his bat at the swing again. “cheryl come on, run for it!” kevin shouts as he climbs over the wooden rail and jumps off the porch. he takes off running as the two boys chase him. 

cheryl climbs up on the wooden rail just as the other girls step onto the porch to attack cheryl. 

she almost slips and wraps her arms around the pillar to catch her balance. 

“get down from there.” one of the girls yells as she swings the wooden bat she was holding against the pillar. cheryl moves her hands quickly to avoid getting hit. 

“maybe i would if you would stop trying to kill me!” she shouts back. 

the girl holding the chain swings it at cheryl and it wraps around the pillar. cheryl uses this to her advantage and musters up all her strength to pull the chain, causing the girl holding it to be yanked forward. her head smacks against the pillar and she falls to the ground, out cold. 

the girl holding the bat swings again, this time coming in contact with cheryl’s hand and she yells out in pain as she falls off the porch. 

-

kevin ran away, around to the back of the house and hid behind a wall of bushes as the two boys looked at him with pure rage. 

“get out here so i can hurt you!” the boy holding the metal bat yells angrily.”

“you mean so i can strangle him.” the other boy, who was holding a shovel, shouts. 

“hey i hated him first!” bat boy yells at shovel boy. 

“oh yeah, well i hate him more!” shovel boy yells back. bat boy shoves him and they start to wrestle. 

kevin’s facial expression changed from fear to excitement as he watched the boys wrestle each other. 

-

“you know you’d be really good on the softball team if you worked out your anger issues,” cheryl grunts from where she fell on the ground. 

“i’ll get over them once you die!” the girl yells as she swings her bat down. cheryl rolls over as the bat clunks against the dirt and she quickly gets up and sprints around the house. 

-

kevin smiles widely as he watches the boys continue to fight. he knows he should probably run but it’s too entertaining to stop watching. 

shovel boy swings his right fist, colliding with bat boys jaw and knocks him out cold, sending him to the ground, just as cheryl ran around the house, the girl with the bat chasing her. cheryl spots kevin and she dives into the bush barrier as the girl comes to a stop next to the boy. 

“kevin we have to get out of here!” cheryl says as she stands to her feet and pulls on his sleeve. 

“relax i’m safe. the guys are too busy fighting each other to care about me.”

“yeah but now there’s one guy and one girl.”

“perfect. one for each of us.” the girl’s taunts with a maniacal smile. “let’s get 'em.” 

just then fangs and toni blur in between them.

“that’s my man you got there.” fangs snarls. 

“and the hottie is mine.” toni growled. 

“oh thank fuck you two are here!” kevin shouts gratefully, pumping his fist in celebration. 

“nobody is gonna kill him but me.” fangs says.

“and me.” toni says as she pops her fangs out and hisses at the girl in front of her. 

“what!?” cheryl and kevin say at the same time. 

“over our dead bodies,” the girl holding the bat bites. 

“fine.” toni smirks and they charge at each other. 

“we should take this as our opportunity.” cheryl says. 

“to do what?” kevin asks, his brows furrowed puzzlingly. 

“to run dumbass.”

“oh!” he says and the two of them take off running. “i have an idea!” cheryl yells and kevin follows her around the side of the house until the reach a rusted metal cage. 

“jason’s cage of eternity? how do you expect us to get all of them in here?”

“who said anything about them?”

“but i thought the key wasn’t coming until the morning?”

“it’s not. but once i’m in here i don’t plan on leaving any time soon. so come on, hurry.”

“but wait. there are two guys and two girls fighting over _us!”_

“yeah, over who gets to kill us first!”

“it’s still pretty cool.” kevin says and he jogs away from the kevin. 

“kevin, what the hell are you doing? i’ll get in here without you.” cheryl yells impatiently as she still hears the sounds of fighting in the distance. 

“i stashed these behind your house just in case. emergency holy water!” he says as he lifts up a large rock and pulls out two water guns and runs back over to cheryl. 

“wow. that’s smart. nice thinking for once. you-”

just then cheryl hears the fighting stop and her eyes go wide. 

“wait, you hear that?”

“i don’t hear anything.” kevin says as he looks around. 

“exactly. the fights over, and i have a pretty good idea who won. come on get in.”

cheryl and kevin both enter the cage and pull the door closed behind them. cheryl pushes it to make sure it’s locked.

“we are so dead. we are so dead. we are so dead.” kevin chants as he stands in the middle of the cage, holding his water gun up at the ready. “do you think this cage will keep them out?”

“i don’t know. i guess we’ll find out when- oh fuck!” cheryl shouts as toni and fangs blur up to the cage and wrap their hands around the metal bars. 

“come on out, sweetie, i wanna take a _bite_ out of you.” fangs says before he snarls at kevin, his sharp teeth poking down. 

“yeah… i bet you taste so good!” toni growls as she pulls on the cage. 

cheryl would’ve loved to hear those words coming from toni’s mouth if she wasn’t looking at her like a turkey fresh out of the oven on thanksgiving. 

the two vampires snarl and hiss as they pull on the cage and reach their arms inside. 

“the eternity cage is unbreakable!” kevin shouts. 

“yeah and so is the prop! i hope!” cheryl adds chuckling nervously.

“don’t make us use these.” kevin warns as they continue to pull on and reach inside of the cage. 

cheryl looks at kevin and nods and they both spray the holy water on toni and fangs’ hands, and they hiss in pain as the liquid burns their skin. 

“sorry sorry sorry,” cheryl winces guiltily. 

just then, the cage is surrounded by twenty other girls and boys trying to fight their way into the cage. kevin and cheryl scream in terror.

“how long will this last!” kevin shouted, looking every which way in fear. 

“well, they loved us for about six hours. if your grandma’s right they’re gonna hate us for about five more!”

-

the following morning, just as the sun was rising, cheryl, who was fast asleep on kevin’s shoulder, flutters her eyes open. the first thing she sees in toni and fangs standing outside of the cage. she screams causing kevin to wake up who immediately joins in the scream as they stumble away from each other and struggle to get on their feet. 

“what do you think we should do?” toni asks. 

“kill them.” fangs responds with a smirk. 

“i thought you said the spell would’ve worn off by now?” kevin exclaims. 

“it did! now we’re just mad at you!” toni barks. 

“guys look, we are really really sorry.”

“yeah, especially kevin since this was his idea.” cheryl says and kevin looks at her shockingly. 

“well you should be. because look at what was just dropped off.” fangs says as toni holds up the key for the cage, and waves it mockingly. 

“okay look, we get it. you wanna punish us, totally.” kevin stammers. 

“not them… _me.”_ kevin’s grandma says as she steps in between fangs and toni and crosses her arms. 

-

“oh, kevin! you missed a spot!” toni calls out as kevin and cheryl rub wax onto her car. she and fangs were sitting on kevin’s grandma’s front porch, sipping on glasses of lemonade, as his grandma laid in a lounge chair in the grass, a glass of iced tea in her hand. 

“this is not how i envisioned spending my saturday with toni.” cheryl grumbles to kevin as she rubs the rag over the roof of toni's car. 

“oh guys, i need someone to come over here and massage my bunions.” kevin’s grandma says as she lifts her foot in the air and wiggles her toes. 

kevin and cheryl share a look before cheryl shakes her head. 

“don’t look at me, she's _your_ grandma. besides i have to get more lemonade for fangs.”

“oh and this time, don’t hold back on the plasma.” fangs says as he shakes his glass in the air. 

“why is he always so _nya nya nya nya-”_ kevin mumbles to himself. 

fangs snaps his teeth out and snarls at kevin who flinches. 

“i heard that.”

“stupid vampire super hearing.” kevin grumbles under his breath. 

“i’m waiting.” kevin’s grandma sing-songs and he grimaces before walking over to her. he drops to his knees with a pout and starts to massage her feet.

cheryl sets the rag down and walks over to the porch and grabs fangs’ glass before making her way into the house. 

toni turns around to watch her enter the house before she stands up.

“i’m gonna go get a refill.” she informs fangs and he just nods in response as he laughs at kevin gagging as he massages his grandma's feet. 

toni walks into the kitchen as cheryl was standing at the island, refilling fangs glass with half lemonade and half blood. 

“hey,” toni says as she walks up to the island. 

“oh hey. listen, i just wanted to apologize again-” cheryl stars as she sets the pitcher of lemonade down. 

“no need, i know it’s mostly kevin’s fault.”

“isn’t it always,” cheryl says and the two of them chuckle. “but seriously, i got so caught up in the attention when all i really wanted was-” cheryl cut herself off as she just stared at toni. 

“what? me?” toni says, tilting her head to the side. 

a blush rises to cheryl’s cheeks as she chuckles and adverts her eyes, not sure of what to say. 

toni walks closer to cheryl and rests her hand on top of hers, causing the redheads breath to hitch. 

“cheryl, be honest. do you like me?” toni asks softly. 

cheryl raises her eyes to lock on toni’s and she sees nothing but softness in them. 

“i really do. and i’ve been wanting to ask you out for weeks.”

“why haven’t you?”

“because you’re… you.”

toni just smiles as she looks down at their hands. she adjusts them to intertwine as she looks back into cheryl’s eyes. 

“cheryl, i know you saw those pictures of yourself in my locker. and i didn’t just put those in there yesterday because i was spelled.”

cheryl was speechless. she didn’t want to get her hopes up but she really hoped toni was about to say what she thinks she’s about to say. 

“cheryl i’ve been crushing on you ever since we took out reggie together.”

“really?” cheryl gasps and toni nods. 

“yeah. cheryl, i really like you too. actually, i’m crazy about you. i just hope you don’t think me having pictures of you in my locker is creepy.”

“i don’t think it’s creepy. i think it’s sweet.” 

“good because i really want to ask you something.” toni smiles and cheryl nods, biting back a smile as her heart thumps in her chest in anticipation. “cheryl, will you be my girl?”

“i would love to.” cheryl answers, her lips curling into a toothy smile. 

“cool,” toni chuckles. “cool. i just hate that our first kiss happened while i was spelled though.”

“maybe we can have a re-first kiss.”

without answering toni takes a step closer and brings her hands up to cup cheryl’s cheeks, rubbing her thumbs over her cheekbones. she pulls cheryl in and captures her lips in a soft kiss. 

cheryl hums as she melts into the kiss again. she grips toni’s waist as she deepens it, their lips moving together slowly but tenderly. 

cheryl couldn’t believe this was happening again. and this time it was for real. no magic. no spells. just them. 

or at least it was just them. because as toni tilted her head to deepen it more they were interrupted by the sound of the door closing and heavy footsteps approaching.

“where is my lemona- oh- oh, uh... my bad.” fangs chuckles as toni pulls away from cheryl’s lips with a roll of her eyes. “‘bout time you two kissed. you’ve been pining after each other for weeks.” the boy smirks as he walks up to the island to grab his bloody lemonade. he nods with a chuckle as he leaves the house. 

toni turns back around to cheryl and wraps her arms around her neck as cheryl slides her hands around her lower back. 

“so this is really happening?” cheryl asks, still on cloud nine from that kiss, and the fact that she’ll get to kiss her again… regularly.

“yeah. it really is. just promise me one thing.”

“anything.”

“never… spell me again.” toni says firmly but with a joking tone. 

“i promise. but kevin on the other hand…”

the two of them fall into a fit of laughter before leaning in to connect their lips once more. 


	7. part one: chapter six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on season one episode eleven: the brewed.
> 
> all the adults are turning into brain obsessed zombies and cheryl, toni and kevin need to figure out why and stop it.
> 
> also i have tried to change a lot of lines in these chapters to fit their personalities, especially cheryl’s, but i’ve decided that cheryl is just gonna be a science geek in this. it's an au after all, right?
> 
> enjoy!

**7:45 p.m.**

“aw man! why couldn’t we be at home eating a pizza and watching so you think you can dance?” kevin whispers. 

he and cheryl are currently in one of the classrooms of their school, hiding under a table, both of them wearing nervous expressions on their faces. 

“yeah! instead, our teachers could bust in here any second and scoop out our brains like chip dip.” cheryl whines, just as they flinch from the sound of a bang from outside the room. 

“you think we could outrun them?” kevin asks. 

“i don’t have to outrun them. i just have to outrun _you.”_

“you know i think they’d go for your brains first, miss _honor roll.”_

just then they hear banging coming from the door and they look up to see their teachers in the small window, trying to claw their way through the door. 

“where is toni? we could really use her help right now.” cheryl says as she winces in fear. 

“i don’t think your girlfriend was in a very helping mood today. 

**9 hours earlier.  
** **9:15 a.m.**

“i’m not breaking any arms or smashing anyone through a wall because he called you… what was it?” toni asks. 

“grandma's boy.” kevin pouts as he crosses his arms and kicks his foot. “and it’s not what he says it’s how he says it.”

toni bites back a laugh. 

“let’s go guys, class is starting.” their teacher says from where he stood in the doorway, taking a sip of his coffee.

“right with you sir, if we’re not there in five minutes start boring kids without us.” kevin says, receiving a smack in the arm from cheryl. 

“we’ll be right there, sir.”

“sorry kev, not gonna do it. gotta learn how to fight your own battles. now i have a field trip to the art gallery, lucky me! later grandma’s boy.” toni teases before pressing a chaste kiss to cheryl lips and walking down the hall.

“it’s sounds cute when she says it.” cheryl says as she watches toni walk away, and kevin gives her a pointed look before rolling his eyes. 

**7:48 p.m.**

“oh we are so dead!” kevin squeals as the teachers continue slamming and clawing at the door, and cheryl fake cries in fear. “why couldn’t we have gotten some kind of sign that this was going to happen?”

“yeah, just a hint would have been nice!”

**9:16 a.m.**

cheryl and kevin walk into their classroom and take their seats as their teacher stands in the front of the room taking large gulps from his coffee. he sways a little before picking up a piece of chalk. 

“bromine, aluminum, nitrogen,” he says monotonously as he writes the elements on the board to spell-

_BrAlN_

“brain… braaaain…”

**7:53 p.m.**

the zombie-like teachers had smashed in the small window of the classroom door. 

cheryl grabs the fire extinguisher and uses it to swat their hands away. she holds it up and sprays the nitrogen at them causing them to groan loudly and cower away. 

“they hate this stuff! if it lasts long enough we should be able to hold them off until toni gets back!” cheryl gasps as she sprays the extinguisher again. 

“toni _is_ coming back right?” kevin asks from where he still hid under the table. 

“i mean i’m the most important thing in her life, right?” cheryl says as she sprays the zombies again. 

**10:35 a.m.**

“the use of light… and the shade is like an emotional firework display.”

toni sighs in boredom as she listens to her teacher describe a painting. 

“and the…” he pauses to take a sip of his coffee. “and the… asymmetrical t-tension.”

“is he ever going to stop talking?” one of the students standing next to toni groans. 

“i know... with mr. collingwood it’s like a picture is worth a thousand words and he’s determined to tell us every single one of them.”

“exactly!” the boy responds with a chuckle. 

just then toni’s phone rings and she takes it out of her pocket and sees cheryl’s face on her screen. 

“babe, i’m in class, as should you be.”

...

“i am but… our teacher’s kind of given us some free time.” cheryl says confusingly as she watches her teacher continue to write the word brain all over the chalkboard. 

“i... i need a... excuse me...” the teacher deadpans before he just walks out of the classroom, bumping into the door frame. 

“i think what he meant is uh… text freely amongst yourselves.” kevin announces to the class.

…

“cher?”

" _oh, sorry. listen, have you ever seen a teacher walk right out of class mumbling?”_

“teachers are strange. i mean, right now my art teacher is stroking a painting.”

“this turgid shade of brown... brown... brain...” the art teacher says monotonously.

_“yeah, i guess so. well, have fun on your field trip. i’ll see you after school.”_

“bye.”

“hey so, would you like to be my partner for our group assignment? i’d really love to draw you.” the boy says after toni hangs up the phone. 

“uh sure?... but you should know i have a girlfriend, i was just talking to her actually.”

“oh cool. i have a boyfriend. he’s on the soccer team.” the boy smiles with a laugh.

“sorry,” toni responds somewhat shyly, almost embarrassed.

“no worries, i commend you for being loyal to your girlfriend.”

toni just laughs but her smile fades into confusion as she watches her art teacher try to bite the head of a small marble statue. 

**8:02 p.m.**

toni digs around in her locker, searching for something as she feels a presence next to her. 

“ _braaaain…”_

“principal weatherbee!” toni gasps as her principle, who looks pale and eyes sunken in and lips chapped, approaches her slowly with hunger in his eyes. 

“trying to guess my locker combo? well let me help you with that.”

toni grabs his wrist and swings him around and slams him into the locker. she slams her open locker door into his face and knocks him out cold. 

“hmm... maybe you should sleep on it.” she says sassily and turns to walk away before her path is blocked by three other zombie teachers, each of them mumbling ‘ _brain’._

“this is one student teacher conference i’m going to have to skip.” she says before blurring away. 

-

cheryl continues spraying the teachers trying to break into the classroom with the fire extinguisher. 

“come on!” she groans.

kevin finally works up the courage to come out from his hiding spot. he grabs a stool and uses the legs of it to smack the teachers hands and arms away. 

“this thing isn’t going to last much longer!” cheryl breathes. “maybe we should call archie?”

“archie!? is it _that bad?”_

“well, he did say he wanted to protect the innocent!”

**11:23 a.m.**

one of their teachers walks past cheryl and kevin, looking out of it and mumbling ‘ _brain’,_ as they walk down the hallway.

“there goes the french teacher. she’s not looking too good either.” cheryl states.

“yeah... well... she’s also a teacher so who the hell cares?” kevin shrugs.

archie suddenly runs up to them and jumps and stops directly in front of them. he balls his fists and puts them on his hips as he tilts his chin up, doing some sort of super hero pose.

“greeting mortals.” he greets.

“you look... stranger than usual.” cheryl says.

“very perceptive, mortal. of course, you are among the few that know my real secret identity.” he says as he rips open his short sleeve button up to reveal the t-shirt underneath. “a.v.! archie vampire, defender of the innocent!” he yells proudly.

just then they hear one of the teachers mumbling brain down the hallway and archie snaps his head in that direction.

“oh! a cry for help! someone is in need of...brains! a.v. away!” he says before he runs away at human speed.

“you mean someone else is in need of brains.” kevin scoffs as archie zooms past him.

-

archie jumps to a stop in front of the teachers lounge.

“ooh. a delima.” he says as he stares at the door. the teachers lounge is off limits to students. who knows what goes on in there?”

“hello archie, may i get by you please?” principal weatherbee asks as he approaches him.

“i wouldn’t go in there sir. there's a lot of strange noises coming out of there like huhhhhh and urghhhh and aaahhhhh...” archie says as he tries his best to imitate the zombie-like groaning.

“oh, the staff are all just excited about the coffee i had delivered from _lotta latte_ to celebrate one hundred days until summer break.” he explains as he pats archie on the shoulder and walks past him towards the door.

“uh sir, once you go in there i can’t save you. you know what they say about students who venture into the student lounge. once they go in they never come out.”

“oh archie, who do you think came up with that.” weatherbee laughs before opening the door and walking inside.

“ _oh hello mr. clayton! how are you- ahhh”_ archie hears from inside the room before hearing mumbling and glass shattering. 

archie takes a step forward before stopping himself 

“no, i can’t. whatever happens in the teachers lounge stays in the teachers lounge. besides, how bad could it be?”

**2:35 p.m.**

“zombies! zombies ahh!” kevin screams as he, cheryl, and all the other students run away from their teachers who are now full fledged zombies.

kevin and cheryl run into the front office to hide.

“we need to warn everybody.” cheryl breathes out.

“what do you mean? didn’t you hear me screaming? i think we’ve done our part.” kevin laughs nervously.

“come on.” cheryl pulls kevin up by his arm and hands him the microphone that sat on the secretary’s desk. “wait for my cue.” she says as she looks down on the switchboard to figure out which button will send an announcement to the entire school and when she finds it she pushes it, a red light coming on the switchboard. “you're on.” 

“testing, testing. 1. 2. check, check.” kevin says into the microphone.

“kevin!”

“o-oh right, uh... attention all riverdale high students, this is an emergency life saving announcement from kevin keller. uh, due to unforeseen circumstances uhh beyond our control we have no choice but to cancel classes, extra curricular activities, and-”

cheryl rolls her eyes with a huff and snatches the microphone from him. 

“our teachers are zombies! run!” cheryl yells into the microphone before placing it back on the shelf. as she does a zombie teacher, who was hiding under the desk, reaches out and grabs cheryl’s arm.

she gasps as she feels her power igniting and her vision turns white. she sees a cup of coffee with the _lotta latte_ logo on it being filled and when it spills over it turns into a thickly green substance, before her vision flashes back to normal.

“cheryl, snap out of it! come on!” kevin yells as he tries to pull her away.

cheryl tries to free her arm from the zombie’s grip. the zombie opens her mouth and tries to bite down on cheryl’s arm before cheryl slams the microphone into her head, freeing herself. when the zombie falls to the ground cheryl and kevin take off running.

“kevin, i had a vision. the coffee from _lotta latte_ is making this happen.”

“ _lotta latte?_ figures. you’d have to be brain dead to pay five dollars a cup for that shit.” kevin scoffs. 

“but it doesn’t make any sense. this coffee has been around for a long time. why is it all of a sudden turning people into zombies. what changed?”

…

“woah what’s this? this isn’t our liquid chicken debrainer.” a man wearing a uniform from a local chicken place says to a delivery man carrying a large jug of water, with headphones in his ears. 

“what?”

“it says _lotta latte._ it’s the same color jug but bigger and a lot more warning labels on it. so where is it?”

“oh uhhh…”

-

the liquid chicken debrainer filters into the coffee machine at _lotta latte_ as toni and the boy from her class sit in the shop. 

“can i peek now?” toni asks.

“no, now stay still or we’re gonna fail this project.”

toni sighs as she turns her head back to the side. she looks out the window of the coffee shop and sees a man running down the street get tackled and she gasps as the person who tackled him sinks his teeth into his neck.

“holy shit! i’m sorry i have to go!” toni rises from her seat in a panic. 

just then the door to the coffee shop busts open and a man limps in and grabs the boy.

toni lands a hard punch to the zombies face and sends him flying to the ground. the boy doesn’t even question it. he just grabs his stuff and runs out of the shop. 

toni sighs and walks up to the counter where the only barista on staff was sitting reading a book with headphones in her ears. 

“listen, you need to call someone-” toni says as the girl unplugs her earbuds. 

“oh! i’m sorry, there’s no beverages right now,” she says, not even hearing what toni just said. “our machine is messed up. something totally gooped up the filters.”

“something is wrong here!”

“yeah!” the barista interrupts. “like i said the filters are so gunked up. me, i’m more of a chai, soy type of person. but our customers today went crazy for the batch.” 

toni groans, fighting the strong urge to throw this barista out of the window as the door opens and three of the zombies, including her art teacher, walk into the shop. 

“you might wanna hide.” toni informs the barista who immediately ducks down behind the counter. 

**7:52 p.m.**

the zombies finally find their way into the classroom. they all limp inside to find the classroom empty and the empty fire extinguisher on the floor. 

cheryl and kevin had escaped out of the other door on the other side of the classroom and ran down the hall and into the girls bathroom. 

“alright, we’re safe in here, trust me. teachers will never enter a student bathroom. it’s like an unwritten rule in education.” kevin says breathlessly, tired from all the running he’s had to do today. 

“sure, right up there with don’t eat students' brains?” cheryl scoffs sarcastically. 

just then they hear mumbling from outside the bathroom and they both lean up against the door.

“you know who’s fault this really is? toni’s!” kevin accuses as he points his finger at cheryl. “learn how to fight your own battles.” he mimics. 

just then they feel pushing from the other side of the door and the two best friends use all their strength to keep it closed. however they fail miserably when the door is easily opened. thankfully it’s toni who walks in. 

“toni!” cheryl cries in relief as she runs straight into toni’s arms and embraces her in a tight hug. 

“are you okay?” toni asks as she presses a kiss to the side of cheryl's head. 

cheryl pulls back and leans forward for a kiss. 

“i am now.” she answers. “are you okay? i was so worried.”

“yeah, yeah, i’m good.”

“okay, good. i had a vision about what’s turning people into zombies. it’s coffee.”

“i know. _lotta latte._ i had a nice chat with a few customers down there earlier.”

…

toni shoved her foot into the chest of the last zombie, sending him to the ground with the five others. 

“wow you are, like, really good at that!” the barista says and toni simply rolls her eyes in response. 

…

“i tried to call you to warn you. you never picked up.” cheryl says. 

“sorry about that. it fell out of my pocket during the fight and i accidentally stepped on it and smashed it.”

“well all that matters is that you’re okay.” cheryl says, finally feeling relieved now that her girlfriend is here, even though the battle is far from over. 

kevin walks over to the door and opens it just a couple inches to see the hallway lined with knocked out zombies. 

“so uh, can we go?” he asks. 

“there’s nowhere to go. the streets are crawling with zombies. and the longer we wait the worse it gets.” toni responds. “don’t you have any geek knowledge on how to fight zombies?” toni says to kevin. 

“well in every zombie movie it’s the same. smash ‘em in the head. except in _super dead 4._ they cured the zombies with _antizombulex.”_

“so maybe if we can get a sample of the coffee maybe we can analyze it and find a cure... or a weakness.” cheryl states. 

“sounds like we’re headed to the lab. let’s go.” toni says. 

“wait. we may need an ectoplasm refractor. i bought one online incase we ever needed it with all the weird shit that happens to us now.” cheryl says.

“okay, you two get the sample and i’ll blur to your house to get it.”

“okay, be safe!” cheryl says. 

“you too!” toni responds as they lean in to share a chaste kiss. 

“it’s in my room on my microscope.” cheryl explains and toni nods before she leaves the bathroom. 

cheryl looks out of the bathroom door and watches as toni makes the zombies follow her. 

“okay good she’s leading them away. there should still be some coffee in the teachers lounge but first we gotta make a pit stop to the biology lab to get that pigs brain. we can use it as bait just in case.”

“smart thinking.”

cheryl and kevin quickly make their way to the biology classroom before heading down to the teachers lounge. they peek in and notice three teachers inside of the lounge. they wait for one of them to limp to the opposite side of the room before they sneak inside and hide under the foosball table as the teacher walks back. 

“okay, we throw the pig brain to distract them and then we grab some coffee and get the hell out of here.”

kevin nods in understanding and cheryl unscrews the bottle the brain is in, gagging at the smell, and throws it across the room and the three zombie teachers limp towards the brain. 

“okay, i’m going for it.” 

cheryl runs to the table and prepares a cup of coffee. she puts the top on it but just as she stands up there’s a zombie standing right behind her. she flinches and drops the coffee on the floor. 

“fuck, i dropped the sample.” cheryl says as she backs away from the zombie. 

“i’ll get the sample. you _run!”_ kevin says and cheryl doesn’t ask twice and high tails it out of the teachers lounge. 

kevin gets up and grabs the large coffee jug as three zombies approach him. 

“oh so that’s how it’s gonna be huh? this is for my c minus in media studies.” kevin says as he swings the jug at his teachers’ head. 

-

cheryl runs down the hallway and around the corner. she stops and leans against the wall, trying to control her breathing as she hears the echoed sounds of kevin fighting off the zombies. 

suddenly the fighting stops and cheryl hears footsteps getting closer and closer.

“kevin? kevin is that you?” she asks.

just as she peeks around the corner kevin appears and cheryl nearly jumps out of her skin. 

“oh shit! kevin! are you okay?” cheryl gasps.

“never better. i got the coffee and a lot of it.”

“cool!” archie suddenly appears, as he usually does, wearing a zombie mask, causing both kevin and cheryl to jump in fear. “is that hot chocolate? got ya!” he laughs as he takes the mask off. “look what i swiped from the teachers lounge. weatherbee took this from me a couple months ago.”

“wait, you were in the teachers lounge?” cheryl asks.

“yeah man, it was awesome. candy, games, tv, couches-”

“zombies!” kevin interrupts.

“really?” archie asks. “i just thought they were all really grumpy.”

“whatever.” cheryl sighs. “we have to get this coffee to the chemistry lab.”

“chemistry? boring...i’d rather smack me some zombies!” archie says as he puts the mask back over his face and blurs away.

cheryl shakes her head with an eye roll.

“well, might as well get a new one of these.” cheryl says as she takes another fire extinguisher off the wall.

as she does, kevin lifts up the sleeve of his shirt to look at the large bite mark on his arm.

“yeah, totally.” he swallows dryly. “let's get this cure going.” he chuckles nervously as he follows cheryl to the chemistry lab.

-

toni shuts the front door to cheryl’s house behind her as she exits with the ectoplasm refractor. just as she’s about to descend the steps of the front porch her path is blocked by cheryl’s mom limping towards her, her skin pale, eye sunken, and mumbling ‘ _brain’._

“oh, mrs. blossom. maybe you should try decaf.”

penelope tries to grab toni, but she ducks to avoid her and blurs behind her. she turns around to spot toni and charges for her again.

“that's right, follow me.” toni taunts.

she leads penelope to the backyard and to the shed. she opens the shed and stands inside of it. just waiting for penelope to come inside. the second penelope steps inside toni blurs out and closes the shed door and locks her in. penelope groans as she bangs on the door.

“sorry! you still need me to babysit on friday, right?”

-

cheryl uses a dropper to place a sample of the coffee onto a glass plate and slides it onto the microscope just as toni walks into the classroom and sets the refractor on the table.

“thanks, babe. did you see my mom?”

“we... exchanged a few words.” toni says with a chuckle. she looks at kevin whose eyes are drooping and cheeks looking flushed. “hey, are you okay, kevin? you look really sweaty.” she asks worriedly. 

“yeah. i’m fine. i'm pumped. let's do this! zombie cure!”

“there's definitely something going on here.” cheryl mumbles as she looks at the substance through the lens. “these cells are like neurons. like brain cells but they’re mutating.”

“okay...mutant neurons...cool...” kevin nods with furrowed brows.

just then there's a loud knock on the door and another group of zombies try to claw their way through the busted glass.

“company! not trying to rush you, babe, but try to speed it up!”

“you can’t rush science.” 

“you can if you don't want your brain eaten.” toni retorts as she grabs the new fire extinguisher and walks up to the door to spray the zombies. 

“what happened?” cheryl says as she pulls away from the lens. “the neurons are gone.” she leans back in to look through the lens. “it just looks like regular coffee now. it’s like it just cured itself just sitting there.”

“maybe it has to be fresh?” toni asks as she sprays the zombies again. 

“wait. not fresh. _hot._ that’s why the zombies hate the fire extinguisher. it’s _cold!”_

“g-great. so we just...wait here until january...” kevin mumbles as the beads of sweat run down his face and his eyes flutter open and closed as his breathing becomes uneven.

“can we just blast the air conditioning or something?”

“sounds like a p-plan. kevin, pack up. we gotta fight our way to the mechanical room.” cheryl nervously says. 

“babe, relax. stay here. i’ll do it.”

“i mean yeah! if you wanna go!” cheryl agrees immediately and toni looks at her knowingly with a smirk.

“yeah... next… zombie rescue is on us...” kevin says slowly with a smile. he’s trying to fight it but it's getting harder and harder. and his smile falls as he mumbles. “brain.”

cheryl turns to look at him and her eyebrows tilt down.

“kevin. what’s up? you look really pale and sweaty. did you get bit back there or something.”

kevin doesn’t answer. he just lifts up his sleeve to show cheryl the bite mark.

“kevin! why didn’t you tell me?”

“‘cause i thought you might... get cure... fix... kevin...” kevin mumbles and trails off as his skin becomes pale and his eyes droop. 

“kevin?”

kevin drops his head as he tries his hardest to fight it.

“kevin. come on. stay with me. well, not right with me ‘cause of the biting, but just... hang on.” cheryl says cautiously as she stands up from her chair and steps closer to kevin.

just then the door bursts open and in walk about six zombies, including their principal.

“oh my God, kevin, kevin!” cheryl shouts as she touches kevins shoulder and he stands and turns abruptly and swings his arm at cheryl who has to duck to avoid the hit.

kevin looks just like all of the other zombies now.

cheryl puts her hands up in defense as she backs up. her back hits the window and a zombie smashes his hand through it and grabs her by the shirt. she frees herself and backs away and turns to look at the zombies through the window, one particular face catching her attention.

“mom?”

-

toni walks through the basement of the school in search of control for the air conditioner. she finds an electric board and pulls one of the levers but nothing happens.

“come on! can’t there be something as simple as an on switch?” she whines.

she flips on every switch she sees, yet nothing happens.

“ _ugh_ come on.”

something appears in the shadow and she gasps before she realizes who it is.

“oh, archie, you scared me. come here and help me find the switch for the air conditioner.”

archie limps towards toni, his skin pale, eyes sunken and mumbles, “brains!” before he charges at her.

-

cheryl uses the fire extinguisher to hold off all of the zombies charging at her as best as she can. but she knows it’s not going to last forever, which worries her.

_come on, toni._

kevin walks up behind cheryl and she turns and tries to hit kevin with fire extinguisher but he blocks it by catching it in his hands. he snatches it from her and throws it on the ground as he charges for her.

-

toni holds archie’s arms and she tries to hold him back as he growls and tries to attack her. 

“do not bite me archie or you’re gonna be the most undead vampire that ever undied!”

the boy opens his mouth and his fangs pop out as he tries to lean in and bite her. 

toni pushes him to the side, slamming him into a stack of boxes before using all of her strength to push him back and slam him onto the electrical board on the wall. she ends up knocking him unconscious and the force from the slam kicks on the air conditioning.

“huh, it worked? guess you’re cooler than you look after all.”

-

cheryl backs up as the zombies crowd her and her back collides with the blackboard. she puts her hands up to block her face. 

“no, get away!” she yells and before any of the zombies have a chance to bite her they all just back away from her and slowly start to drop to the floor.

cheryl looks at them confusingly until she feels the cold air from the overhead vent blow on her. 

toni blurs into the classroom and observes all of the zombies laying on the floor.

“are we good?” she asks as she steps around them and towards her girlfriend.

“yeah. the zombies are all cooled off and sleeping apparently.” cheryl says as she scratches the back of her neck and breathes out in relief.

toni stops in front of her and takes her hand, just needing to feel her. and she also feels the relief wash over her body.

“will our lives ever be normal again?” cheryl asks as she adjusts their fingers to intertwine.

“i’m afraid not.”

-

“and all over riverdale, people are cranking the ac, chilling in freezers, and scarfing down extra scoops of ice cream. that’s how yesterday’s bizzare outbreak of hot coffee fever was frozen in its tracks by common cold, thanks to local heroes like these.” alice cooper, riverdale’s local news reporter says as she turns to smile at the _lotta latte_ barista and the boy who partnered with toni to draw her for their art project.

“hi. _lotta latte_ coffee is all better now.” the barista smiles.

“ugh, bitch.” toni mumbles from where she, cheryl and kevin stood on the sidewalk watching as they filmed the news story.

“this is bullshit. _we_ saved the day.” kevin huffs.

“we?” cheryl scoffs. “you almost bit my face off?”

“i meant before that.”

“sorry kevin, but we unsung heroes have to take the high road. right, baby?”

cheryl turns to look at her girlfriend but furrows her brows when she realizes she is no longer standing next to her. she turns to look at the interview happening and sees the coffee cups that the barista and art boy were holding spill onto their shirts, before she felt a gush of wind and toni was standing next to her again.

“right. the high road.” toni smirks proudly and cheryl smiles down at her with an eye roll.

_my girl._


	8. part one: chapter seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on season one episode twelve: three geeks and a demon. 
> 
> during a boring night the gang tries to find entertainment by doing a séance, but an evil spirit is released and finds a host in toni. 
> 
> ALSO i have recently discovered that someone on wattpad has stolen my username. so if you are also a wattpad reader just know that is not me! i am the ONLY TopazGotTheJuice :)
> 
> anyways, enjoy!!

clifford stands at the bottom of the staircase, wearing white suede shoes, pastel purple pants and a peach blazer. he checks his watch impatiently as he taps on the railing.

“come on, honey, we’re gonna be late!” he calls out just as the doorbell rings. 

an excited jason runs to the door and opens it with a smile.

“hi toni!” he greets cheerfully. 

“hey kiddo!” she smiles back. 

“oh cheryl! your  _ babysitters  _ here!” jason calls out teasingly with a giggle as cheryl and kevin walk into the opening of the living room. 

“hey you.” toni’s eyes light up the second she sees her girlfriend. 

“hey... so good to see you too...” kevin mumbles sarcastically, to which both girls just roll their eyes. 

“look at you all dressed up for the senior prom.” toni greets clifford as he pins a flower to his blazer. 

“yeah, very miami vice.” kevin says. 

“freeze turkeys.” clifford says, dropping his voice as he holds up two finger guns. the teens and jason just laugh in response. 

“cheryl’s mom thought it would be fun if we wore the same thing to our senior prom.”

“i think it’s really cool that you two are volunteering at the senior citizens’ prom.” toni says as she leans her arm down on jason’s shoulder. 

“oh!  _ senior prom!  _ i just got that!” kevin says with a laugh and cheryl turns to look at him with a look of pure confusion. 

just then the front door opens and kevin’s grandma walks in, all dressed up.

“wow grandma.” kevin says. 

“you look beautiful.” cheryl finishes. 

“thank you, sweetie.” grandma says just as penelope walks down the stairs wearing a very puffy teal dress. 

“okay. so what do you think? this is the exact same dress i wore for my senior prom.”

“it’s a little 1981 isn’t it?” grandma asks. 

“yes, i know. that’s the… point.” penelope says somewhat questioningly. 

“mom, i bet it looked great thirty years ago.” cheryl offers with a smile. 

“yeah! grandma could lend you something out of her closet.” kevin adds with a goofy grin. 

“okay maybe i should go change.” penelope goes to walk back up the stairs before she’s stopped by kevin’s grandma. 

“oh no! i don’t want to miss the vote for prom queen! you look fine! let’s go drop it like it’s hot!” grandma says excitedly and the three teenagers all exchange weird glances as the adults head for the door. 

“have fun you guys.” clifford says as they walk out of the door. 

“you too!” toni calls back. 

“alright.  _ jacuzzi time machine _ starts in about three minutes.” cheryl says once the door is closed. 

“i’ll get the drinks.” kevin announces as he heads for the kitchen. 

“i’ll get the popcorn.” toni says. 

“can i stay up late tonight?” jason asks before toni walks into the kitchen. 

“if you promise not to tell your parents that we’re letting you watch  _ jacuzzi time machine.” _

“deal!” jason says and the two of them shake hands with a firm nod.

-

cheryl turns the living room lights off as everyone gets situated. jason throws a pillow on the floor to sit on as cheryl flops down on the couch. 

toni walks into the living room with a large bowl of freshly popped popcorn in her hands and kevin zooms past her with his hands full of cups for everyone and two sodas and plops down on the couch next to cheryl. 

“uh, hey, that’s  _ my _ spot.” toni says. 

“what? i always sit next to cheryl on movie nights.” kevin shrugs as he looks at toni who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow and then at cheryl who was looking at him with a guilty expression but also excitement. kevin looks back and forth between the two and it takes him a moment before his jaw drops knowingly. 

“oh-  _ oh…  _ you’re a couple now you two probably wanna… canoodle.” kevin says as he wiggles his eyebrows with a smirk. 

“and, what about it?” toni retorts. 

cheryl elbows kevin in the arm and he gets up from his seat to sit on the floor next to jason as toni takes her place next to her girlfriend. she sets the popcorn bucket on the table just as the movie starts. toni grabs cheryl arm and throws it over her shoulder, interlacing their fingers as they lean back against the couch.

cheryl can’t help the way her heart rate speeds up. with all the craziness they go through on a weekly basis she still hasn’t gotten used to the fact that toni is actually her girlfriend. 

just as the opening theme of the movie starts to play they hear a loud bang from the roof which causes the cable to go out, the tv now playing static. 

“aw what!?” 

“no no!”

“aw come on!” 

they all say at the same time. 

they then hear whatever it was that crashed on the roof roll off and land in the bushes.

“ _ ahhhh... i have really got to work on my roof landings.”  _ they hear archie groan from outside. 

“dammit archie.” kevin mumbles. 

-

jason, cheryl and toni were sitting at the kitchen table, bored out of their minds. jason was picking toppings off his piece of pizza. toni was shooting pieces of popcorn into the bowl that sat at the other end of the table. and cheryl was turning the two liter of coke upside down and right side up, over and over again. 

“they just whirlpooled into the eighties! their leg warmers are all wet. my favorite part is coming up!” kevin calls out from the living room where he stood in front of the tv. 

“how do you even know? it’s all static.” toni calls back.

“‘cause we’re ninety two minutes in.” kevin says back as if it were obvious. 

“he knows this movie by heart.” cheryl deadpans. 

“i’m so bored!” archie yells from where he lay on top of the kitchen island. throwing a lemon into the air and catching it. 

“hey! if you hadn’t knocked out the satellite dish we’d all be enjoying  _ jacuzzi time machine  _ right now!” kevin snaps. 

“you think grandma is making out with her boyfriend right now?” jason suddenly asks.

“jason?” toni says shockingly. 

“ew!” cheryl grimaces. 

“come on!” archie adds with a grossed out expression. 

“don’t you have some cards or something?” toni asks as she throws her head back in boredom.

“we have some old board games in the basement.” cheryl states and everyone gets up and makes their way down into the basement to scan the shelves of board games and old toys. 

“okay, we got  _ math-a-lot.”  _ toni says. 

“too much math.” kevin shakes his head. 

“word strike?”

“requires spelling.” kevin shoots down again. “anything in a nice, fun, non educational flavor?”

“check this out!” cheryl gasps as she pulls a large box from the bottom shelf and everyone turns to face her. “spirit speaker. host a séance and make contact with the spirit world.”

cheryl blows on the box causing the layer of dust to fly around, making everyone cough while fanning the dust away with their hands. 

“oh yeah, now we’re talking. let’s meet up with some cute boys from the other side.” kevin smiles as he rubs his hands together.

“what’s a séance?” archie asks although his face reads excitement. 

“it’s like a ritual conducted to make contact with spirits.” cheryl explains. 

“dead spirits! those things give me the creeps. i thought they were banned from toy stores?” toni asks. 

“this one looks seriously old.” cheryl replies. 

“i don’t think we should mess with it.” toni falters. 

“what’s the big deal? it’s just a board game.” kevin claims with a shrug.

“it’s what it represents that scares me!”

“aw come on, babe. just one little game? unless you’re scared.” cheryl teases with a smirk. 

“yeah. i’m a chicken. bawk bawk.” toni says sarcastically. “jason and i are gonna go play mario kart. try not to make a mess.” toni warns before grabbing jason’s hand and leading him back up the stairs. 

“man, she has got to loosen up. maybe you can help with that, cheryl.” kevin says jokingly which results in a hard punch to his arm. 

“alright are we doing this or what?” archie asks. 

“let’s do it.” cheryl claps her hands and the three of them make their way back up to the first level of the home. 

the three of them light a bunch of candles to create an ambience. they set the game on the coffee table and circle around it. 

“alright, i did this at a sleepover once.” kevin starts. “everybody, two fingers on their respective corners. now, all we have to do is just summon a spirit and ask it a question.”

“wait, maybe toni was right. i don’t think we should mess with this thing. we don’t know who or what is out there in the ether.”

“come on. we hang out with vampires.  _ you’re _ dating one. we’ve taken on zombies, killed a bunch of demon animals and took down reggie with no problem and he’s over a hundred years old. what’s a little voice from beyond?” kevin tries to persuade. 

“point taken. but we’re reading the rules first.” cheryl says. 

“alright fine,  _ mom.”  _ kevin sighs as cheryl grabs the paper with the rules on it and begins to read. 

“okay. rule number one: never play alone. rule number two: always finish your session by saying goodbye and waiting for the spirit to leave the board. rule number three: do not remove fingers from the board until the spirit’s been properly dismissed. failure to do so can have catastrophic results.”

“ooh, catastrophic results.” kevin says sarcastically as archie waves his hands in the air mockingly. 

“come on guys this is serious. rule number four: never ask is there anyone out there out there who wants to talk to us, as such an open invitation tends to attract evil entities. got it?”

“got it! now let’s do this. i’ll start.” kevin chirps as he puts his fingers on the right corner of the board on his side and the other two immediately do the same. 

“oh great séance board! are there any... friendly, gentle, spirits that would like to hang with us?” kevin asks.

the circle in the middle of the boards lights up green and they see the word ’ _ yes’ _ appear. 

“yes! sweet!” kevin cheers with a laugh. “uh... now what?”

“ask it a question.” cheryl says. 

“right, uh... will the world end in 2020?” kevin asks. 

the circle turns red and a ‘ _ no’  _ appears. 

“okay i got one. is there intelligent life on other planets?” cheryl asks and the circle turns red. 

“eh, it doesn’t know.” archie mumbles. “do you know what the force is? have you transcended the space time continuum?” archie asks excitedly. 

the circle lights up green but instead of a  _ ‘yes’  _ it reads ‘ _ are you a geek?’ _ and cheryl just laughs. 

“yes. he is.” she chuckles. 

“i got one.” kevin says. “will i be cool?” he asks and the board lights up red. “not even in college?” again, it lights up red. “ever?” red. 

“will we all have girlfriends slash boyfriends?” archie asks and the bored lights up red again. 

“hey, i already have a girlfriend, thank you very much.” cheryl says and the board lights up green and reads ’ _ sorry’. _

“okay, this is lame. you are officially dismissed! goodbye.” kevin says angrily. 

the board lights up blue and reads  _ ‘bye’  _ before the light dims down to nothing and the three of them remove their fingers. 

“let’s go get a snack.” cheryl suggests. 

“good idea.” kevin agrees and the two of them stand up and head for the kitchen. 

“wait! guys! come back! we haven’t talked to anyone cool yet!” archie whines.

“sorry archie.” cheryl calls as she and kevin search through the cabinets. 

archie shrugs with a frown and a poked out lip before he places his fingers on his corner of the board and stupidly asks-

“hey, anyone out there?”

the circle glows red and he feels a gush of wind and all of the candles in the living room blow out. archie looks around confusingly as the lights start to flicker, the lamps, pictures and books levitate, and the chairs at the dining room table start to shake. 

cheryl and kevin immediately run back into the living room and look around in fear before they look at archie with their eyes wide. 

“archie… what the hell did you do?” kevin asks slowly and archie looks at him with a fearful expression mixed with guilt. 

“ _ guys! what are you doing down there!?” _ they hear toni yell from upstairs.

“nothing!” cheryl and kevin yell at the same time. they both drop to their knees on the floor and lean in close to archie. 

“tell me you did not play alone?” cheryl asks through clenched teeth.

archie doesn’t reply. he just looks at cheryl with fear in his eyes.

just then the tv turns off on its own and the three of them snap their heads towards it. it turns back on to static.

“i think someone’s here.” archie shakily sing-songs.

the three of them flinch as the chandelier above them starts to rock back and forth. 

“u-um… are you the… nice but brutally honest ghost we recently conversed with?” kevin stutters out, swallowing dryly. 

the word  _ ‘NO’  _ appears in the already lit red light. 

“no… didn’t think so.” kevin says as he swallows again.

“okay… it’s getting weird.” cheryl whispers as she looks around. 

“uh… guys… i think it’s trying to tell us something…” archie quavers. 

the three of them look down at the board. the light in the circle flickers between red, green, blue and black like a strobe light as random symbols appear. 

“i don’t know what that is but it may be another language.” archie says. 

“yeah! like evil speak.” cheryl says, her breathing increasing. 

“okay, i know it’s not cool for a seventeen year old dude to freak out like this. but i am  _ freaked out  _ right now!” kevin shrieks. 

“you played alone.” cheryl says in a high pitch voice as she runs her fingers through her hair. “archie, it’s the number one rule! never play alone!”

“okay. okay. what do we do?” kevin asks. 

“i don’t know it’s going crazy!” archie cries. 

“okay. okay.” cheryl breathes as she tries to gather her thoughts. “let’s just all put our hands on the board. on three. one. two three.” 

the three of them put their hands on their respective corners at the same time and all of the levitating items fall to the floor and the board light goes out. they all sigh in relief. 

“i think it worked.” cheryl breathes out. 

she spoke too soon. 

the board light comes back on and flickers jack and forth between green and blue. 

“or we just really pissed it off.” kevin whispers. 

“i think it’s trying to spell something.” cheryl says and they all lean closer to the board. 

“hands off.” cheryl reads out loud. 

“hands off what? the board?” kevin asks. 

the board reads ‘ _ yes’.  _

“y-yes yes. it says y-yes.” cheryl stutters out. 

“what do we do!?” archie asks, his face scrunching up in fear. 

kevin’s mouth opens and closes rapidly before he yells. “t-take your hands off the board!”

all three of them take their hands off the board at the same time and hold them up in surrender. 

the flickering lights on the board glow brighter and strobe faster as the entire board shakes on the table. 

cheryl’s jaw drops as she gasps. 

“that’s the number two rule. do not take your hands off the board unless the ghost says goodbye or it can escape the spirit realm.” cheryl whines. 

“but it told us too!” archie shrieks. 

“of course it did! it’s a ghost stuck in the netherlands and now it wants out!” kevin shouts.

“netherworld!” cheryl corrects. 

“you know what the fuck i mean!” kevin shouts back. 

just then a hard gush if wind tornadoes out of the center of the box and a red shadow flies out before the wind stops and light turns off. the three of them pause for a moment and just wait.

“okay, any ghosts in your bodies?” kevin asks and the three of them rub themselves as if checking for ghosts. “not in mine. i would definitely feel it if it were in mine.”

“i don’t feel any different.” archie breathes out. 

“maybe it never left the board.” cheryl says and she points to the top of the game. “grab that.”

kevin reaches for the top and the three of them cover the game back up and lock it down. 

“okay... no more séances. ever.” cheryl says with finality. 

“i got no problems with tha- woah!” kevin’s jaw drops as he looks through the opening of the living room. 

toni makes her way down the stairs but she doesn’t look like herself. her hair is a lot curlier than it was just 20 minutes ago. it was flowing back behind her but there was no source of wind. her lips looked darker like she just applied a dark maroon shade of lipstick. and she had a symbol drawn on her forehead. 

“toni? ...b-babe?” cheryl asks as the three of them stand up and look at her with pure shock and bewilderment.

“does she look a little... different to you?” kevin asks. 

toni smirks and she lifts her hand and uses her force to throw the books off the shelves. she raises her other hand towards the tv causing the static to swirl ominously, creating a black hole type of effect. then she levitates a couple inches off the ground and glides sideways down the hallway. 

“um... i don’t think that’s your girlfriend anymore.” kevin states before the three of them run to the kitchen. 

they halt in their tracks when they see toni perched up on the island, looking around and sniffing. she then blurs to the refrigerator and opens it up. she grabs anything in her sight and bites into the food before throwing it at the other three standing in the kitchen opening, frozen in shock. 

“i’ve never seen a girl eat like that!” archie smiles as they dodge all the food she throws at them. 

“uh, toni... why don’t we just-”

“ _ tacomum senten eeyah.”  _ toni shouts, her voice two octaves lower than usual and echoey. 

“okay yeah, that’s definitely not toni.” cheryl concludes as she dodges the soda can toni throws at her. “are you guys thinking what i'm thinking?”

“the ghost that escaped the séance board-” archie started. 

“i think it found a body it liked.” cheryl finishes. 

toni sprays whipped cream into her mouth before she throws the can at them and it hits archie directly on the head.

“ow.” he whines as he rubs his head. 

“relax, you’re a vampire.” kevin scoffs. 

“i know, but still.” he pouts. 

then toni, or well, the spirit possessing toni slams the refrigerator door closed and walks over to the counter. it grabs a chocolate cake that was sitting there to cool and moves it over to the island, eyeing it hungrily. 

“oh no no! please no!” cheryl shouts frantically as she steps closer to the evil spirit. “not the cake, please. my mom just made that for her book club tomorrow. please please don’t. please.” cheryl begs with pleading eyes. 

the evil spirits looks at cheryl with a smirk before it digs into the cake with toni’s bare hands and shoves the chocolaty dessert into her mouth. 

cheryl cringes as tears well in her eyes. she definitely has a grounding coming her way. there’s no way she can explain to her parents that the demon that possessed toni ate her cake. 

“ _ cheryl! where’s toni!”  _ they suddenly hear jason yell from upstairs. 

“we think she’s possessed by a ghost from the netherlands!” archie yells back. 

“archie!? shut the fuck up!” she whispers and smack his arm with the back of her hand. “archie’s kidding jase! she’s just grabbing you guys a snack!” cheryl yells up at jason just as toni licks the icing off of the palm of her hand. 

“i have got to try that cake.” kevinl says as he approaches the island. 

“kevin?” 

“what, it’s not like your mom can serve it now, right?” he chuckles as he leans his arm against the counter right in front of the spirit possessed toni.

she snaps her fangs out and snarls loudly at kevin who flinches and backs away. 

“okay okay, it’s your cake.” he rushes out with a nervous chuckle. 

“toni? toni, are you in there?” cheryl asks softly as she takes a cautious step forward. 

“ _ elok hesse on  _ toni.” the evil spirit says before it uses toni’s vampire power to blur away. 

cheryl, kevin and archie quickly follow her into the living room and once again stop in their tracks when they see the evil spirit holding up a large trophy. 

“stop! stop, okay? put down... the trophy.” cheryl says as she holds her hands up in the air in warning. 

“it’s just a bowling trophy.” kevin says. 

“no, it’s the only trophy my dad has ever won. ever.”

suddenly the spirit slams the trophy on the floor and it shatters into pieces. 

cheryl balls up her fists and groans in frustration. 

“okay that’s it! this party is over! i command you to release my girlfriend and go back to wherever it is you came from.”

the spirit squints toni’s eyes and looks at cheryl’s challengingly. 

“big mistake.” kevin chuckled in fear. 

the spirit opens its mouth and lets out a scream, a strong tornado of wind coming from its mouth, causing cheryl, kevin and archie to let out high pitch squeals of pure terror. then the spirit blurs away and up the stairs. 

the three of them remain frozen until they hear jason screaming from upstairs. 

“jason!?” they all scream at the same time before running up the stairs. 

“jason? jason? where are you?” they all call out as they open all the doors to the rooms, bathroom and closet. 

cheryl opens jason's bedroom door to find it empty and she curses under her breath. 

“uh, guys? i think i know where he is.” archie says as he stands in front of cheryl's bedroom and they see a red light similar to the one from the board flickering through the crack of the door. 

archie opens the door and the three of them scream again at what they see. 

a bright red light strobing, although they can’t find the source, and toni’s body levitating a couple feet off the ground and her eyes glowing bright red. 

as they stand there, unable to move, and still screaming the spirit uses its force to slam the door shut. 

finally the three of them find the will to move and run back down the stairs. 

“what the hell was that?” kevin breathes out as they reach the first level of the home. 

“well. just a guess. a demon has taken over toni’s body.” cheryl answers with slight sarcasm as if that weren’t obvious. 

“ _ ugh _ , this was a bad idea.” kevin groans as he throws his head back. “i told you a séance was a bad idea.”

“it was  _ your _ idea.”

“okay now is not the time to be throwing blame around, cheryl! but while we’re on the topic i’m not the one who invited casper the psycho  _ ghost _ in!” kevin snaps as he points at archie. 

“it was an accident!” archie shouts back. 

“okay, let’s calm down and assess.” kevin says as he calms everyone down with hand motions. “we have an evil demon who’s taken possession of a fledgling vampire’s body, who has trapped your little brother inside your bedroom.”

“right.”

“right.”

cheryl and archie say one after the other. 

“well then, there’s only one thing to do.”

-

cheryl, kevin and archie march back up the stairs, each of them wearing some sort of makeshift helmet on their heads and carrying weapons. 

archie grips a butterfly net, cheryl holds up a crowbar, while kevin bounces a baseball bat in his hand, and they approach cheryl's bedroom door bravely. 

cheryl turned her knob and opened her door slowly. they stood back for a second to prepare before entering, and instead of the red light, cheryl’s room now glowed blue. 

they stepped into the room cautiously, holding their weapons up at the ready. archie slowly opens cheryl's closet door and sees jason sitting on the floor, clutching his teddy bear with tears in his eyes. he points in the direction of the evil spirit with a whimper. 

the evil spirit was sitting at cheryl’s desk, logged into her twitter on her computer. 

“what's it doing?” kevin whispers. 

cheryl squints her eyes as she tries to look closer. 

“it’s tweeting from my account...” cheryl reads the tweet and her jaw drops. “...to: hanging with my babysitter in my onesie pajamas?”

“aha! burn!” kevin laughs loudly, and archie joins in. 

but they immediately shut up when the evil spirit snaps her head around.

“woah! uh...” cheryl forces out and the three of them start to back up as the evil spirit stands up from the chair.

“ _ hapto senko!”  _ the evil spirit yells and cheryl's closet door slams shut causing jason to scream. 

“okay! we’re not leaving until you give me my brother and my girlfriend back.” 

the evil spirit stares at her for a moment before opening its mouth and spraying some kind of gooey green liquid on them.

the three of them do a mixture of screaming and gagging as they run out of the room again and back down the stairs. 

“what is this stuff?” archie asks. 

“i don’t know. i feel so dirty.” kevin grimaces as he runs his finger in the goo on his shirt. 

“wait...” cheryl says as she rolls the goo around between her thumb and pointer finger. “i think it’s ectoplasm. the physical manifestation of paranormal activity.”

“cool.” archie hums. 

“okay... i’ll be leaving now.” kevin rushes out as he tries to make a break for the door but archie blocks his path. 

“no no no. we have to think this through.” cheryl says and kevin pouts before nodding. “now, movies helped us solve our zombie problem last week so uh… what would the ghostbusters do?” 

“well, they used streams of lightning plasma to suck ghosts into their containment boxes.” kevin explains. 

“do we have any of that stuff?” archie asks. 

“no. all we have that sucks in a vacuum.” cheryl says. 

“my dad had a leaf blower that we could kick into reverse. but nothing strong enough to hold a spirit as nasty as this though.”

“damn.” cheryl mumbles under her breath as she thinks. after a few moments, realization suddenly hits her and her eyes widen. “well... there is one thing i know of that can suck up spirits and hold them.”

-

“once we suck the soul out, we’ll need a place to contain it.” cheryl grunts as she shoves her shovel into the ground and discards the soil into the growing pile. 

“but the  _ cubile animus?  _ seriously!? this is a really bad idea! if you thought a séance was bad, this is a seriously majorly messed up idea!” kevin scolds. 

cheryl groans as she pauses her digging and sticks her shovel into the ground to lean against it. 

“are you gonna help us or not?”

“are you really sure we should be doing this?” kevin asks hesitantly. 

just then cheryl’s desk chair flies out of her window and lands directly in front of them. 

“okay dig.” kevin says and he and cheryl dig until kevin’s shovel hits something hard. 

he throws his shovel down and digs through the soil and pulls out the  _ cubile animus.  _

“okay, let’s do this.” cheryl says as she takes the box from kevin’s hands. 

just then cheryl’s backpack flies out of the window and lands right at her feet, causing her to drop the  _ cubile animus.  _

“okay, stop throwing my stuff!” she yells up at her window, unaware that the box had fallen open and a blue mist was seeping out of it, too distracted by one of her trophies landing on the ground. 

“alright, that is it!” she yells as she bends down to quickly grab the box and the three of them march back towards the house, none of them noticing the blue mist spreading on the ground. 

kevin quickly runs to his house to get his dad's leaf blower before they head back into cheryl’s kitchen. cheryl uses small rope to tie the  _ cubile animus _ to the rear end of the leaf blower. 

“okay. i’ve secured the  _ cubile animus.” _

“alright. let’s get your little brother and your girlfriend back.” kevin says confidently. 

“okay. let her rip.” cheryl says.

kevin smiles as he pulls on the starter. it rumbles a little bit but doesn’t turn on. he pulls it again and nothing. again and nothing. 

“did you check the fuel?” cheryl sighs. 

“yes i checked the fuel, i already told you twice i filled it up.” he grunts as he pulls again. 

“maybe the couplings you made for the tubing are malfunctioning.”

“oh, here we go. so, everything i built is faulty. everything you built is golden.”

“you know... i don’t like your tone.” cheryl scoffs. 

“oh really!?”

“yes really! you always get defensive whenever-”

“defensive!? defensive? you’re pulling that card right now!”

“guys guys!” archie yells to stop their bickering. “did you try the power switch?” he says as he pressed the switch on, smiling smugly.

cheryl freezes in shock. not only does she feel dumb that the problem was so simple but she hates that archie is the one that found the problem. 

kevin just smiles awkwardly before he yanks the starter again and the leaf blower comes to life. 

“alright! let’s bag us a demon!” kevin yells over the loud motor before the three of them head back up the stairs. 

this time instead of cautiously opening the door the three of them burst through the door like superheroes. cheryl’s room was glowing, strobing back and forth from purple to red, creating a purple hue, and many of her things were floating in the air. 

the evil spirit was in the corner of cheryl's room drawing random symbols all over cheryl's wall.

“those are some kind of demonic symbols!” cheryl yells over the sound of the apparent wind that was blowing loudly in their ears and blowing their hair back. 

the spirit turns around and slowly approaches them. 

“okay! you’re gonna give me back my brother and my girlfriend and get back in the board or else!” cheryl warns.

“ _ or else?” _ the evil spirit asks slowly. 

“or else, we’re gonna take care of this riverdale style!”

“yeah you tell him!” archie encourages and kevin nods in agreement. 

“ _ loscanay nee hugo melee tanan ho!”  _ the evil spirit yells. 

“uh alright... let’s waste this demon!” kevin shouts. 

“yeah!” archie adds. 

“pull it!”

archie reaches for the starter and pulls it, revving the motor on. 

“jason! run!” cheryl yells. 

archie runs to the closet door and opens it. he reaches for jason’s hand and pulls him out of the closet and out of the room and shuts it to keep him safe. 

cheryl and kevin point the leaf blower directly at toni. 

“ah! demon of the night, get the hell in this leaf blower!” kevin’s screams. 

a strong and visible force starts to pull out of toni and into the leaf blower. the evil spirit tries to fight it but the  _ cubile animus _ is too powerful.

the leaf blower starts to shake due to the strong paranormal force but cheryl and kevin hold onto it strongly to keep it as steady as possible. 

“keep sucking!” 

the evil spirit yells out in agony as it is ripped from toni’s body and into the  _ cubile animus.  _

finally the spirit is completely sucked out of toni’s body and cheryl turns the leaf blower off as toni and the other levitating items fall to the floor.

“aha yeah! take that stupid demon!” kevin yells in celebration as he holds on to the  _ cubile animus.  _ he flinches as the box shakes in his hand. 

cheryl immediately runs to toni’s side and rubs her hand down her forearm, and toni groans as she starts to come to. 

“ow... my head. what happened?”

cheryl looks back at kevin and at the same time they both say-

“it was archie’s fault.”

“i heard that.” the redheaded boy says as he re-enters the room. 

-

the four teenagers spent the next hour in a frenzy. 

toni had called fangs to come over, saying it was an emergency, and asked him to wipe jason’s memory of the night, just so he would have nightmares or be terrified of toni forever. 

once jason was asleep the rest of them spent the next hour cleaning everything. toni, archie and kevin cleaned up the mess in the living room while cheryl focused hard on super gluing her dad's trophy back together. unfortunately there was nothing she could do about the cake so she would just accept the consequences for that. 

soon they hear the car pull up in the driveway and they all crash onto the couch just as cheryl's parents walk through the door. 

“hey mom! hey dad!” cheryl greets cheerfully. 

“hey guys.” clifford answers. 

“how was the senior prom?”

“a little slower than i remember, but fun.” penelope says. 

“where’s grandma?” kevin asks. 

“the captain of the senior citizen bowling team took her to the pancake palace for the midnight buffet. i don’t know where she gets her energy. well, i’m going to bed. goodnight.”

“i’ll be right up.” clifford says as he walks up to the kids. “so cheryl, i hear you’re the new president of the new riverdale taylor swift fan club.”

“what?” cheryl gasps. 

“archie’s parents were working the dessert table and they showed us your tweet. do you um... really wanna sign up for the community knitting club?”

“okay dad, thanks. nothing to worry about.” cheryl says as she stands from the couch and tries to push the man out of the living room. 

“okay. goodnight.” he says before he leaves the room and heads up the stairs. 

when he was gone, cheryl turns back around to look at toni. 

“really? the  _ knitting club? _ ”

“it wasn’t me remember!?” toni shoots back. 

“your right, your right.” cheryl sighs as she flops back down on the couch next to toni and wraps her arm around her shoulder. “all that matters is that you’re okay.” 

cheryl leans down to press her lips softly to toni’s. 

“ewww…” kevin and archie tease and cheryl pulls away from toni with an eye roll. 

“oh whatever. did you take care of the  _ cubile animus?” _

“yeah, i hid it really well. that thing is never gonna bother us again.”

_ meanwhile.  _

outside, where they dug up the  _ cubile animus, _ the blue mist was still circulating in the area and a hand pushed its way out of the soil and reached up into the air. 


	9. part one: chapter eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> based on season one episode thirteen: jessie’s girl
> 
> the gang is looking forward to the school dance, but the return of an old enemy makes their plans go awry.

kevin looks out the living room window and throws the curtain back into place with a frustrated huff.

“of course! the one time we get free pizza is when your mom is treating.” kevin complains as he walks over to sit down on the back of the couch.

“the guy still has... 2 minutes.” cheryl says as she checks the time on her phone.

“please... zero chance. but hey i was thinking... limo?” kevin asks.

“what?” cheryl looks at him confusingly.

“for the fly off to the moon dance. i know it’s not  _ prom  _ but would a limo be too much?”

“i... don’t know about this dance.”

“what!? why not!?” kevin exclaims.

“i don’t know maybe because of all the shit we’ve been through? and after digging up the cubile animus to save my possessed girlfriend i kind of just want to chill.”

“you can chill any other day! this is the first school dance and now you actually have a beautiful girlfriend to escort you.”

cheryl just sighs and drops her shoulders as a news story comes on the tv.

“ _ coming up! add another name to the riverdale’s list of missing persons. who is it? stand by.”  _ local reporter alice smith says through the tv.

“missing persons? how about my missing pizza?” kevin scoffs. “i’m calling it in.” he says as he takes his phone out of his back pocket while walking back over to the window to check if he has arrived.

-

the pizza man hops out of his car and walks around to the passenger side. he groans as he kicks the flat tire before reaching into the backseat to grab the pizza. he checks the time on his watch before he starts to jog down the sidewalk. he makes it all of five feet before something grabs his leg and yanks him. the pizza flies into the air and lands on the ground.

-

fangs walks down the sidewalk, his phone up to his ear, rolling his eyes.

“okay mom... i’ll be home by eleven...” just then he notices a couple down the sidewalk laugh as they stumble on the pizza. he smiles maniacally. “no... don’t bother... i’ll just grab some fast food on the way. in fact... it just showed up. bye.” he hangs up and licks his lips in hunger.

before he can charge at the couple he hears a familiar sound of growling behind him. he snaps his pointed teeth out and turns around to hiss at whoever it was.

“find your own table. this one’s take-” he cuts himself off once he notices who it is. “holy shit... you’re back.” fangs smirks as he crosses his arms.

-

“that pizza place owes us big time.” kevin complains as he and cheryl walk out of their last class for the day.

“let it go kevin.”cheryl sighs as she rolls her eyes.

“we were stood up c… i have a pizza sized hole in my heart.” he whines dramatically as he leans back against the lockers. he takes a brownie out of his pocket and bites into it with a pout.

“hey!” archie greets excitedly as he approaches them. “you guys excited for the fly off to the moon dance tomorrow? i know cheryl is secure but kevin, do you have a date? and do they have any friends that need a dance partner.” he asks as he wiggles his eyebrows.

“nope. this guy is going stag. gotta keep my options open you know.” kevin responds. 

“loser.” archie teases, making an L with his hand and placing it over his forehead as he walks away.

“you need to ask toni. i refuse to let you skip this.” kevin says, pointing a finger at cheryl.

“i will but i’m going to ask her if she would rather have a quiet night in. with you always over we barely get any alone time.” cheryl rolls her eyes as she walks away from her best friend.

“wow, tell me how you really feel.”

-

“i can’t believe you have a date for the dance!?” toni exclaims in shock as she and fangs walk down the hall. “i thought you were done with people from our school?”

“who says they’re from our school?” fangs smiles smugly, just as a group of girls walk past them, one of them purposefully brushing against fangs’ arm.

“why can’t we just do something normal for once... like them.” toni whines.

“they said they were going to the beach... for some sun... that sound like  _ fun  _ to you?”

toni just huffs as she adjusts her bag around her shoulder.

“fine... forget i mentioned it.” toni sighs as she and fangs continue walking down the hallway.

just as they turn the corner cheryl and kevin walk towards them and toni’s eyes instantly light up despite her slightly glum mood.

“oh hey toni... fangs. are you two going to the dance tonight?” kevin asks while not so subtly nudging cheryl’s arm.

“not with you.” fangs snorts. “i’m off to the zoo. it’s feeding time.” fangs says as he bogards his way between cheryl and kevin, before turning back around. “hey, are pandas still endangered?”

“yes!” the other three answers at the same time.

“bummer.” fangs shrugs. he winks and makes a clicking noise with his mouth before walking away.

“what are you two about to do?” toni asks the best friends.

“we have to meet with our group for our history project. you can come and sit in if you don’t mind waiting for me?” cheryl says as she reaches for toni’s hand.

“no it’s okay, i’ll probably wait for you in the library. i have to study, anyway.” toni replies as she swings her and cheryl’s hands from side to side.

“study for what? vampire history?” kevin asks.

“i’ve missed so much class mr. g says i’ll fail if i don't pass the makeup test. have fun working on your project.”

toni leans in to kiss cheryl but cheryl frowns when she pulls away. she could tell something was going on with toni by the way she hardly put any emotion into the kiss.

“she’s gotta relax. dracula never had a degree and he owned a castle.” kevin states and cheryl gives him a pointed look.

“shut up doofus. i think i’m gonna go talk to her.”

“i know she’s your girl but i’d really like to finish up with this project as fast as possible so we don’t have to worry about it this weekend, especially before the dance.”

cheryl looks down the hall hesitantly before nodding.

“you’re right, you’re right. come on.”

-

toni sat in the empty library, her text book open and a notebook with sloppy notes written on it sitting next to it. her elbow sat on the table as she rests her head in her hand. she could no longer sleep but she felt so exhausted. her eyes droop as she begins to zone out.

_ come on toni. can’t you feel it? your body knows what it wants.  _

she hears a familiar voice echo in her head before she she snaps out of it with a sharp inhale-

-

after the longest hour ever, toni gives up and packs up her stuff and drags her feet out of the library just as cheryl and kevin head towards it.

“hey, babe. you okay?” cheryl asks, slight concern on her face.

“i’m fine. just studying too hard.” she grogs. 

“relax. you’ll get like what, a million chances at high school? i mean, who cares if you flunk this one?” kevin jokes, and cheryl almost punches him before toni snaps at him.

“i care! i have things i want to do with my life! you know, in case i get cured.”

“he was just kidding. right kevin?” cheryl says through clenched teeth as she pinches the skin of his forearm hard.

“ah! ah! right.” kevin chuckles, as he rubs his skin.

“i can help you study later tonight if you want?” cheryl says softly.

“only if you don’t mind.”

“of course not. plus you’re coming over to babysit jason anyway.”

-

jason was fast asleep and the couple were almost two hours into studying. cheryl could feel toni’s frustration and tiredness but she was so patient with her. 

“this stuff must seem like a total waste of time to a vampire huh?”

“i’m still a fledgling.” toni sighs in response.

“but still. you’re practically immortal. why are you so worked up over this school stuff?” cheryl gently asks.

“i used to have a life before reggie turned me. i had plans, dreams. and now, nothing.”

“that’s not true. you still have me.” cheryl offers a crooked smile.

“but for how long, baby? you’re going to grow old and i’m going to be seventeen forever. undead is the perfect word for me. not dead but not really living.”

“i’m so sorry, toni. i wish there was more i could do... but what i can do is at least make sure you don’t fail. shall we move onto the next chapter?”

“it’s no use, i can’t do this right now. i’m exhausted and my neck is killing me.” toni groans as she rubs her neck with her hand.

“want me to...” cheryl trails off and toni nods and turns around so her back is facing her.

cheryl reaches up and places her hands on the base of toni’s neck but before she even has the time to start rubbing she feels the energy of her power before her vision turns white.

she sees toni walking around in a foggy field and hears growling and snarling sounds. her vision flashes and then she sees toni hovering over a body, her fangs out and blood dripping from her teeth and lips, before her vision flashes back to normal. 

cheryl gasps, her brows furrowed in shock and confusion as she moves her hands away from toni’s neck. 

“you’re parents wouldn’t mind if i left early since jason is asleep would they? i think i need to go home and rest my brain.”

“no no. it’s cool. i’ll walk you out.” 

cheryl helps toni gather her things into her backpack and follows her out of the door and to the porch.

“hey toni.” cheryl says as she grabs her hand and they face each other.

“yeah?”

cheryl stares at her. her eyes flicking over every inch of her face. she wants to tell her about her vision, but she can see the exhaustion and the stress in toni’s eyes and she doesn’t want to make it worse. especially when she can’t even explain it herself.

so she settles for-

“would you like to go to the dance with me tomorrow? you’ve been so stressed so maybe a fun night with your girlfriend could help?”

toni smiles and it makes cheryl’s heart warm.

“i’d love to.”

cheryl starts to lean in and toni follows her. she wraps her hand around the back of cheryl’s neck as they meet in the middle. their lips press together softly. they pull away slowly, lips less than an inch apart and they breathe in together. cheryl parts her lips and encloses them over toni’s bottom lip; toni’s closing over cheryl’s top. they pull away slowly again, this time far enough too look at each other’s eyes properly.

“you sure you don’t want me to walk you?” cheryl asks.

“no i think i’ll manage, i’m a vampire, remember? plus no one would be able to walk you back home.”

“okay. please be safe.”

“i will.” toni smiles as she walks down the steps of the porch, their hands separating as she does.

cheryl leans up against the column as she watches toni disappear down the sidewalk. she looks at her longingly, her face morphing into worry. her vision suddenly made her feel very nervous.

-

as toni walks down the sidewalk with nothing but the sound of her heeled boots stomping on the ground and the sound of night critters, toni hesitates when she hears a low faint growling and the clattering of garbage cans.

“hello?” she calls as she looks around her. 

when there’s no answer, she sighs and continues walking. she takes all of two steps before her sight is blocked off by a pair of hands covering her eyes. 

“fangs?” she asks.

“i’ll give you one more guess.”

that voice.

it can’t be.

it just can’t be.

“reggie!?” toni exclaims as she turns to look into the eyes of her evil ex boyfriend, smiling smugly at her.

without even giving him time to reply, toni drops her stuff, grabs a fence post from the yard she was in front of and kicks reggie in his lower stomach, sending him flying to his back. toni blurs on top of him and presses the makeshift stake into his chest. she’s surprised when reggie holds his hands up in surrender.

“do it! come on. finish me off.”

toni presses the stake harder into his chest but hesitates.

“can’t do it, can you? you’re torn between two worlds. not one of them. not  _ truly  _ one of us.”

“shut up!”

“you’re so beautiful and strong but... so alone. we’re the same, you and i.”

“i am  _ nothing  _ like you.”

“oh but you are.” reggie laughs lazily as he leans his head back against the concrete and notices toni’s text book on the ground. “look at you. an immortal studying for finals.”

“it’s midterms.” toni deadpans. 

reggie chuckles as he raises his head and lifts his hand up. toni swats his hand away and he grunts in pain.

“fuck.” he breathes out as he leans his head back down against the concrete.

“you’re weak.” toni states.

“you spend months disembodied underground and see how you feel.”

reggie moves to get up and toni snaps her fangs out, her eyes turning yellow, and hisses at him as she presses the stake harder against his chest. 

“i’m not here to hurt you. i have a proposal for you.”

he goes to get up again and toni stands off of him to allow him to stand as well. but she keeps a firm grip on the stake just in case.

“in a few days when i’m strong enough... i’m leaving. there’s nothing for me here... except you... join me.”

toni just looks at him in shock. she was not expecting him to say that. but then again she wasn't expecting to see reggie again, ever.

“we made a great couple.” reggie smiles.

“yeah, until you _ bit _ me. i’m not going anywhere with you.” toni shakes her head in disbelief. 

“in a few years even those losers will leave you behind. you’ll be stuck in high school for all time. you’re a vampire.”

“no, i’m  _ not!”  _ toni snaps.

reggie scoffs out a laugh and rubs his bottom lip with his thumb.

“join me.” he repeats as he walks to stand behind toni. “we’ll travel the world immortal and all powerful. all it takes is one... _tiny_... little human life.”

toni breathes heavily and clenches her fist in anger. she knows reggie doesn’t like to take no for an answer and she only had one thought on her mind; to protect her girlfriend.

“will you leave my friends alone?”

“you have my word.” he leans down and puts his lips next to her ear. “you can have... three days to think about it.” he mumbles before he goes to walk away.

“and how will i find you?” toni says as they both turn to face each other.

“text me.” he smiles with a shrug. “until next time, my fair fledgling.” reggie bows and mumbles “ow,” before he grips his back and slowly walks away.

toni rubs the back of her neck and looks back in the direction of where she just came from, now wearing the same look of worry her girlfriend was wearing. 

-

since cheryl decided to go to the school dance now, she called kevin to come over immediately to help her pick out an outfit. due to the craziness they go through weekly and toni’s weekly babysitting job cheryl and toni haven’t been able to go on a real proper first date. even though this was just a school dance she was treating it as such, hence why she needed the fashion advice.

“this one?” cheryl asks as she holds up a knee length, flowy, yellow dress.

“what are you, 12?” kevin scoffs in reply and cheryl went back to rummage through her closet.

“okay how about this one?” she holds up a white dress with flowers going around the waist.

“are you going to a wedding?”

“ugh, how about you get off your ass and actually help me look.” cheryl groans as she searches through her closet again.

“why don't we just go out and buy something new. wear something fresh for your new girlfriend.”

“wow,  _ you? _ having a good idea? that's new.” cheryl says sarcastically as she hangs her dress back up. “well which shoes should i wear? maybe i can find something to match the shoes.” cheryl says as she looks through her shoe boxes on the top shelf of the closet.

“what about those gold ones and then you can get-”

“ow! what the fuck!” cheryl suddenly shouts. as she was pushing her shoe boxes around something fell off the top shelf and hit her in her head. 

she looks down to figure out what it was that fell on her and gasps at the box laying by her feet. but it wasn’t a shoe box.

“the  _ cubile animus?”  _

cheryl bends down to pick it up and gasps as her power surges through her and her vision turns white. she sees the area in her backyard where they dug up the box last weekend and sees reggie standing to his feet and brushing the dirt off his shoulders. her vision snaps back to normal.

“kevin!?” she gasps as she walks out of her closet to where kevin was sitting on her bed. he snaps up to an upright position when he notices what's in her hand. “why the hell is this in my closet? i told you to hide it somewhere no one would ever find it!”

“well, you have so many shoes in your closet i figured no one would think to look through all of them.”

cheryl groans as she runs her fingers through her hair.

“kevin! i had a vision. when we dug up the  _ cubile animus,  _ something got out... or well, somebody...” cheryl says and kevin raises his eyebrows in anticipation. “reggie.”

“wh-what!? no, we- we killed him.” kevin stutters out. 

“well, then somehow we unkilled him... when we dug up the box.”

kevin suddenly stands to his feet, both his eyebrows raised in fear.

“so, he was in the box... and we... are you sure?”

“there’s only one way to find out.”

cheryl and kevin walk down to cheryl’s backyard to where they dug up the  _ cubile animus  _ and both of their jaws drop and their heart rates pick up when they see footprints in the soil leading away from the hole.

“no, no, no, no.” cheryl chants as she holds the back of her head with both her hands. “we are so dumb.”

“we are so  _ dead!  _ we’re gonna die!” kevin quavers. 

cheryl paces for a few seconds as she stares down at the hole.

“okay, we have to call toni.”

“oh great we’re gonna die twice. first toni will kill us and then reggie will!” kevin shrieks loudly.

“kevin get a grip!” cheryl shouts back as she grabs him by the shoulders.

“I’M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!” 

cheryl suddenly smacks kevin straight across the cheek and he freezes in shock as he grabs his face.

“thank you.” he says calmly.

just then they hear a gush of wind as toni blurs into the backyard.

“oh, toni, listen... reggie’s back.”

“reggie’s back.”

they say at the same time.

“how did you know?” cheryl furrows her brows in confusion.

“he just proposed to me.”

“he  _ what!?”  _ cheryl snaps as she balls her first up in anger.

“nevermind that, babe. reggie is weak. we need to take him out now before he gets his strength back. we’ll do it tomorrow night so we have some time to prepare.”

“aw... but the dance.” kevin whines and cheryl sighs.

“we got your back! right kevin?” cheryl insists, giving kevin a fierce look.

“he’s really weak?” kevin asks.

“he can barely walk.” toni assures him.

“alright... well... let's take down this broke-down vampire... again.” kevin says strongly as cheryl nods in agreement.

“okay. i’ll set the meeting. you two get the gear.”

“alright! reggie take down, two point oh. only this time we know what we’re doing.” cheryl asserts.

“and hopefully we’ll still have time to dance.”

“yeah, yeah. we got this!”

“good, because reggie wants to meet at the dance at nine.” toni says as she holds up her phone to read the text response she just recieved from reggie.

“perfect. we are... so pumped.” kevin replies somewhat hesitantly, despite his excitement a few seconds ago.

“come on, fearless vampire hunters.” toni smirks as she slides her hand down cheryl’s cheek and walks away, and the two of them follow her.

-

the next day cheryl and kevin spend the early part of their day buying their outfits for the school dance and the afternoon gathering up their gear for their battle against reggie.

now they were two hours away from dance time. the two best friends we’re in cheryl's room going through the collection of weapons that lay on her bed.

“holy water balloons and guns?” cheryl says as she reads a list written on a notepad.

“check and check.” kevin responds as he scans the bed.

“garlic bombs?”

“check.”

“uv flash?”

“check.”

“stakes.”

“check.”

“okay, if we’re going to kick reggie while he’s down we can’t half ass this. you think we need one more?”

kevin looks at cheryl with uncertainty.

“you think we need one more.” cheryl states as she reaches under her bed. she pulls out the tanning bulbs that she and kevin stole from kevin’s grandma the first time they fought reggie.

“ah, the uv sunsaber xl. check!” kevin says.

cheryl smiles as she adds it to the pile of weapons but her smile slowly fades as she raises up to sit on the edge of her bed.

“hey, kev?”

“hmm?” he hums in response.

“you... you don’t think toni would ever... go back to reggie, do you?”

“are you kidding? she’s totally crazy about you. why?”

“i had a vision. she was lost in a fog. then she was over a body with blood on her mouth... you don’t think toni would ever turn do you?”

“c, she’s been fighting it for  _ this _ long. why would she change now?” kevin asks and cheryl just shrugs. “speaking of change. it’s time for us to change into these.” kevin says excitedly as he stands up from the floor and grabs the two hanging bags that were hanging on cheryl’s closet door.

-

the doorbell rings and penelope answers it to reveal toni, wearing a short purple dress that hugged her at the top and flowed out starting at the waist. her entire back was exposed and the thin straps criss crossed across her back. 

“wow, toni, you look beautiful, come on in.” penelope smiles as toni walks in. “cheryl! toni is here!” penelope calls up the stairs.

a few moments later cheryl and kevin make their way down the stairs but toni only has eyes for cheryl.

cheryl was wearing a long red dress, the material wrapping around her neck with straps on both sides and a piece of material coming down the middle of her chest. her back was exposed as the straps criss crossed across her back much like toni’s dress, and she had a slit going up her left leg.

“wow.” toni gasps as cheryl comes to a stop in front of her. “you look... beautiful.”

“wow... so do you.” cheryl gasps back with a smile and they greet each other with a warm hug.

“wow kevin, you look so handsome.” kevin mumbles sarcastically to himself.

“i think you look very handsome, kevin.” penelope says.

“thank you miss blossom. at least somebody appreciates me.”

“alright i need to get a picture!” penelope claps excitedly and the three of them snap their heads towards her as she disappears to get her camera.

cheryl could see the fear in toni eyes.

“relax, we got you.” cheryl says as she grabs toni’s hand and she starts to relax at her touch.

“alright, squeeze get together.” penelope sings as she comes back with her camera and holds it up.

cheryl and kevin stand on either side of toni who was looking at the camera with slight fear in her eyes.

“alright. one... two... three...” penelope counts and just as she snaps the picture kevin and cheryl push toni back and stand in front of her, both of them doing a goofy pose, as toni ducks behind them.

“oh, guys, come on you completely blocked toni. let me get another one.”

“sorry mom, can’t be late!” cheryl says as the three of them rush to the door, kevin grabbing the duffle bag full of their weapons as cheryl opens the door.

“okay, well have fun! and don’t drink too much of the red stuff!”

“what!?” all three of them ask at the same time as they poke their heads back through the front door.

“punch? don’t they still serve punch at school dances?”

“oh yeah.” cheryl says as they all chuckle nervously and leave the house, heading for toni’s car parked in her driveway.

-

they arrive at the dance at 8:30, which gives them thirty minutes to prepare. they stash their weapons in hiding spots in the hallway before they head into the gym, already packed with students.

cheryl wishes they didn’t have to deal with this right now because toni looks so beautiful and all she wants to do is dance with her. but this is the unfair price to pay when you’re a supernatural.

“okay it’s getting closer to that time, i’m going to go wait for reggie in the hall.” toni yells into cheryl’s ear over the music.

“okay, be safe.”

“i’ll will. i’ll signal you the second he arrives.”

cheryl nods and gives toni a quick parting kiss before she disappears into the hall.

“kevin do you really think you should be drinking that much punch?” cheryl asks as she watches kevin chug his third cup of punch, a red tint on his lips.

“the key to beating vampires is to stay hydrated.” he responds.

“really? and where did you get that information?”

“ _ dusk.” _ kevin shrugs and cheryl just rolls her eyes.

kevin looks around the dance floor and his eyes suddenly go wide.

“oh look, there’s joaquin. wow. should i ask him to dance?”

“i’m pretty sure he’s still mad at you for bringing his dead dog back to life. besides toni’s gonna give us the signal any second.”

“hey guys!” archie yells as he suddenly appears, as usual.

cheryl and kevin turn to face him but were not at all expecting him to be wearing…  _ that. _

“what the hell are you wearing?” cheryl exclaims, fighting back a laugh.

“i asked kevin what i should wear, he said to wear a suit.”

“not a space suit, archie!” kevin exclaims.

“whatever, you’re just mad you didn’t think of it.” archie says proudly as he struts away from the best friends, just as cheryl’s phone dings.

“oh look, joaquin is alone at the snack table. this is my chance.”

“sorry kev, toni just texted. it’s time.”

“but-”

“forget it, kev. we gotta go, now. come on.”

“but before we go... i think i gotta  _ go _ ...”

cheryl groans as she throws her head back in frustration.

“well that’s too damn bad. shouldn’t have drank all that punch. now lets  _ go!” _

-

toni walks down the hallway in search of reggie who had just texted her a minute ago saying he was here. she turns the corner and walks a few feet before she feels a presence behind her.

“i was worried you might now show.” reggie says lowly and toni turns to face him, his fangs already hanging and eyes glowing blue. 

“wouldn’t miss it.” toni smirks as she bats her eyelashes. she hates having to flirt with him but he needs to believe she’s really here for him so the surprise attack actually works.

“reggie… come on, there’s a whole buffet of freshmen in there-” fangs whines as he rounds the corner, and freezes, both he and toni shocked to see each other. “toni... what are you doing here?”

“what we need to do. do not try and stop us.”

“who’s us?” reggie tilts his head in confusion.

just then kevin busts out of an empty garbage can while cheryl steps out of a locker.

“the same us that killed you last time.” cheryl says smugly as toni turns to look at her proudly.

“good, you got my invitation.” reggie chuckles.

“you knew i’d bring them here?” toni asks as she snaps her head back around to reggie.

“i’m not an idiot. plus... i brought friends of my own.”

just then two vampires appear from down the hall. one of them steps to kevin while the other steps to cheryl, their fangs sharp and eyes hungry.

“too weak to fight your own battles, huh? lame.” kevin scoffs.

“hey,” cheryl calls out, getting reggie’s attention. “if you wanna raise the stakes, fine. we can do that.”

cheryl pulls the slit of her dress back and pulls the wooden stake she tied to her leg and shoves it straight into the vampire’s chest. he screams before his body disintegrates.

the other vampire snarls at kevin and charges towards him, but kevin throws him off with the uv flash before throwing one of the garlic bombs on him and his body disintegrates as well.

reggie watches the whole thing with pure shock in his eyes.

toni snaps her fangs out, her eyes glowing yellow, and charges at reggie but before she can attack him fangs blocks her path and grabs her. he turns toni around and wraps his arm around toni’s neck as he pulls her away from reggie.

“fangs! what are you doing!?” toni yelps in shock.

“oh, we had a special chat earlier.” reggie smirks. “fangs hold on to her.” he says as he waves his hand in a circle, as a red smoke seeps out of his palm.

“yes i’ll hold on to her.” fangs says monotonously and toni gasps in realization.

“fangs is in a trance! he’s not as weak as we thought!”

“get him!” cheryl shouts at kevin.

“ _ kramatak vamkar-” _

before kevin could finish his spell reggie blurs towards him and grips his neck.

“you’ve got something else to say?” reggie threatens.

“i have to use the bathroom.” kevin chokes out as he grips reggies arm.

reggies growls and grips kevins arm with his free hand and pushes him down the hall and into the bathroom. he tightens his grip on his neck and grips the waist of his pants to lift him in the air. he throws kevin into the wall and the boy grunts in pain as he hits the floor.

“then go.” 

“i just did.” kevin groans.

reggie brushes his shoulder off as he walks out of the bathroom. just as he steps into the hall he has to duck to avoid being hit by cheryl swinging one of the tanning bed bulbs. just as he stands up straight, cheryl swings again and lands a direct hit to reggie’s neck. reggie yells in pain as his skin burns and blisters but it heals in two seconds. 

cheryl swings again but reggie catches the light in his hands, ignoring the way in burns his palms, and forces it out of cheryl’s hands and onto the floor. he grabs cheryl by her arms and pushes her into the nearest classroom. he throws her and she lands on the desks and rolls off and onto the floor. she quickly stands up and grabs a yard ruler. she breaks it in half over her knee to create a sharp point and throws it towards reggie but he already blurred away.

she squints her eyes but in her slight hesitation reggie blurs behind her and grabs her.

“wasn’t part of your little plan, was it?” reggie growls as he forces cheryl out of the classroom.

-

“fangs, listen to me! this isn’t you!” toni says as she breaks free of fangs grip and turns to face him. “reggie has you charmed, but we have to stop this-”

fangs hisses as toni, his eyes golden and teeth sharp, as he grabs her neck.

“shut. up.” he says slowly through clenched teeth. 

“i’m your best friend. look into my eyes, please.” toni pleads as she holds onto his wrist.

fangs looks at her closer as he smiles maniacally. toni takes advantage of his slight distraction and slams her head directly into fangs’. he lets go of toni’s neck and holds his forehead.

“ow! what the fuck? what's going on?” fangs looks around confusingly.

-

“ah... ow...” cheryl grunts as reggie pulls her down the hall, a hard grip on her arm, just as toni and fangs appear from around the corner

“i don’t give a fuck how good looking you are.  _ no one _ puts me in a trance!” fangs bites the second he sees reggie’s face.

“let her go!” toni shouts.

“why do you even care about this meat? in five hundred years you won't remember its name. come with me and be what you’re meant to be!” reggie commands.

“get this through your tiny bat brain. if you hurt her or any of my friends i  _ will _ make you regret it. even if it takes a thousand years! but i will never,  _ never,  _ be one of you.”

reggie looks at her with pure anger and rage, his lips twitch as he tightens his hold on cheryl.

“we’ll see.”

reggie lifts cheryl arm up and sinks his fangs deep into her skin. he sucks on her blood while sending his venom into her bloodstream. 

she cries out in pain as reggie releases her and she falls to the floor, moaning in pain as her body shakes as if her molecules were phasing.

“cheryl!” kevin yells as he runs around the corner towards the commotion.

“now. either you become one of us, or she does.” reggie says as blood drips from his fangs and down his bottom lip. “you’re choice… see you soon.” reggie winks and spreads his arms before he blurs away.

“cheryl!” toni cries as she runs to her girlfriend and drops down to her knees. without even hesitating she grabs cheryl's arm and holds it up to her lips.

“toni... no...” cheryl moans out in pain.

but toni ignores her and sinks her teeth into cheryl arm right where reggie bit her. she sucks out the venom as well as some of cheryl’s blood as she can already feel herself transitioning. 

“what’s she doing?” kevin asks.

“saving her.” fangs whispers sadly as he watches his best friend drink human blood for the first time.

once toni no longer tastes the tangy flavor of the venom she releases cheryl arm, her fangs and teeth stained with cheryl’s blood. the redhead passes out and toni looks at her with sadness but also relief.

-

“don't worry, honey. toni got the venom out.” kevin’s grandma says gently.

cheryl was back in her room, changed into pajamas, her arm wrapped up in gauze, holding an ice pack to her head. she was surrounded by grandma, kevin and jason.

“your heart is still beating, you’re going to be alright.” grandma smiles as she pats her shoulder.

“yeah, but toni isn’t. i feel terrible.” cheryl sighs as her eyes well with tears.

that was her vision.

“what do you expect. you just got bitten by a vampire. vampire.” kevin nods with a smile, trying to lighten the mood.

“toni just gave up whatever chance she had at a life to save me.”

“wow, she must really love you.” kevin awes with nothing but seriousness in his voice.

“there’s nothing for her now.” cheryl whispers as a tear rolls down her cheek.

-

outside of the blossom house, toni fangs and archie stand on the sidewalk as toni looks up at cheryl's window longingly.

“she’s going to be okay, right?” toni asks softly.

“oh yeah, cheryl’s a rock. when we were all sick with the flu i was puking for days but cheryl-  _ ow!”  _ archie grunts after receiving a punch in the arm from fangs. “well, welcome to team v, toni. it may not be awesome at first but after a few decades or so-”

fangs punches archie in the arm again and he shuts up as he grips his arm.

“so, i guess we’ll really be best friends... forever now huh?” fangs says with a smile as he wraps his arm around toni’s shoulder. 

toni just sighs solemnly but nods in response.

“well... let’s hit that after party shall we?” archie says as he flies into the air.

“welcome to the rest of your life, girl. when you’re ready we’ll be there for you.” fangs promises with a smile.

“go ahead. i need to see her first.” toni says and fangs nods before flying into the air.

toni sighs before she jumps into the air and hovers there. the first time she’s ever been able to fly now that she’s a full fledged vampire.

she flies over to cheryl’s bedroom window and taps on it. a couple seconds later it's opened by kevin and toni pulls herself in.

“hey toni, how are you?” the boy asks softly.

“i’m not sure. do you all mind if i talk to my girlfriend alone?” toni asks politely and kevin's grandma waves jason over and they leave. kevin says goodbye and promises cheryl to check on her before he leaves as well and toni and cheryl are the only ones left in the room.

toni walks up to cheryl’s bed and sits down on the edge of it.

“how are you feeling?” toni asks softly.

“i should be asking you that. i feel so bad, toni-”

“don’t... it wasn’t your fault.”

“but still. you gave up any chance you had at a normal life to save me. why?”

“because, cheryl…” 

toni reaches for cheryl’s hand and interlaces their fingers, before releasing a breath. 

“i love you.” toni declares raspily as she looks at her with soft eyes.

“you do?”

“i do. there was no doubt in my mind when i saved you. and i’d do it again with no hesitation.”

“oh toni...” cheryl starts as she sits up and squeezes toni’s hand tighter. “i love you too.”

toni smiles softly as they lean in at the same time and share a short soft kiss. they pull away slowly and rest their foreheads against each other. they stay there for a few moments before cheryl pulls back.

“so _ you're _ okay.” cheryl asks softly.

toni releases a breath as she hesitates before answering.

“i’m not sure how i’m feeling about all of this... being a full fledged vampire... but... i think i need to get out of this town. just for a little bit.”

cheryl’s heart aches and she fights back the tears that threaten in her eyes.

“when do you think you’ll be back?” she asks, her voice shaky.

“i’m not sure.” 

cheryl hates this. she wishes that they could just be happy and that their lives could just be normal. but they aren’t and she understands.

“i understand, toni. and i’ll be here when you get back.”

toni doesn't respond with words. she wraps her hand around cheryl’s neck and pulls her into a passionate kiss. their lips pull and press against each other tenderly. 

cheryl hums when she feels toni’s tongue press against her own and she frees her hand from toni’s and cups both of her cheeks.

toni starts to pull away but cheryl whines and grips her face harder. toni’s leaving so she just needs a little more.

and toni understands. she melts into the kiss as she tangles her fingers into cheryl’s hair. this is the most passionate kiss they have ever shared, and she never wants it to end. but she knows that if she keeps kissing cheryl she will never leave, and this is something she needs to do.

so, with one last hard kiss to cheryl’s lips, toni pulls away from her.

cheryl’s crying.

“don’t cry, baby.” toni says softly as she wipes cheryl tears away with her thumbs.

“i’m going to miss you so much.”

“i’m going to miss you too. i don’t want to leave but this is something i need to do.”

“i know.” cheryl nods because she understands. she does. “you do what you gotta do and come back to me, toni.”

“i will. i promise.”

cheryl walks toni to the window and gives her one last parting kiss before she watches her fly away longingly.

she knows they will be fine.

she knows toni will be back.


	10. part two: chapter one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> based on season two episode one: welcome back dusker.
> 
> cheryl is determined to find a vampire cure for when toni comes back. meanwhile a string of vampire attacks occur and the vampires of riverdale think cheryl is behind it.

the moon is full and hangs bright in the sky, yet the atmosphere seems eerie.

two vampires walk in a field, unbeknownst to the green mist that swirls behind them.

“i’m bored. and hungry.” the shorter vampire complains.

“shh. we’re told to wait, we wait… she’ll show up… eventually.” the taller vampire says as he looks up at the back of the blossom home.

-

cheryl stares intensely at her laptop screen but quickly shuts it when she hears a knock on her door and her father enters. 

“hey, any word from toni about babysitting tomorrow?”

“not yet. but it’s only… 10:30…” cheryl sighs as she checks the time on her phone.

it has been exactly three weeks since toni left and cheryl hasn’t heard from her since. she misses her so much. she knows she is coming back. she knows she is. but she had no idea when that will be. and three weeks of silence from the girl she is in love with has been extremely hard. she understands that toni needs this time away to deal with everything that has happened at the dance but dammit she just wants to see her face. or at least read a text from her.

“hey, you know i bet old mrs. klump would love to come. she used to babysit you when you were a kid, remember?”

“wasn’t she the one with the cane?”

“yeah…”

“yeah i think her cat kept attacking me.”

“so you do remember. okay, keep trying toni.” clifford says before he leaves her bedroom and shuts the door behind him.

-

the two vampires wait and watch the blossom house in silence, when suddenly that green mist that was lingering behind them swirls around them. the taller vampire inhales the smoke, his eyes turn green, his fangs snap out and he attacks the shorter vampire.

-

cheryl hears growling noises from her open window and snaps her head towards it. she gets up from her bed and walks over to her window to check it out but the growling stops.

just then her phone rings. she walks back over to her bed to see fangs’ name on her screen and answers the call.

“ _ holy shit you are not going to believe this!”  _ fangs shouts excitedly into the phone.

“is toni back?” cheryl rushes out.

_ “uh... no... sorry. but i just read online that chic cooper is making an appearance right here in riverdale. chic cooper! from dusk! can you believe it!” _

“i’m pretty sure that's a rumor.”

“ _ how would you know?” _

“‘cause i started it. i thought it might lure toni back. i need to know she’s okay. it’s my fault that she drank human blood. don’t be mad.”

“ _ i don’t get mad. i get  _ **_hungry_ ** _.”  _ fangs snaps before he hangs up.

cheryl just sighs and tosses her phone back on the bed. she walks back over to her window and looks out of it longingly. this is the place where she and toni had their last kiss before watching her fly away. 

she thought back to that night; seeing vivid images flash in her mind; her hitting reggie in the neck with the tanning bulb, reggie sinking his fangs into her arm, the look on toni’s face before she sucked her blood-

she’s brought back to reality when she hears a loud hissing sound.

“woah!” she gasps as she flinches back.

there, floating in her window, is toni.

“aren’t you going to invite me in?”

cheryl hesitates. she longed for the day that toni came back. but she wasn’t expecting to see her at this very moment, and not in such an abrupt way.

but she’s here. she's really here.

cheryl shakes her head as the initial shock wears off.

“yes, please.”

cheryl reaches for toni’s hand and pulls her inside and the second toni’s feet hit the floor she crashes her body into cheryl’s and wraps her arms around her neck tightly.

“i have missed you so much!” toni exclaims as cheryl wraps her arms around her back, and she tightens her hold.

“i’ve missed you too!” cheryl says as she pulls away from toni. “but, what happened? did you find reggie and make him pay for turning you into a vampire-”

“i’m  _ fine.”  _ toni suddenly snaps but instantly regrets it at the look on cheryl’s face.

“okay, sorry.” cheryl whispers.

toni takes a deep breath and shakes her head.

“sorry. i have some new challenges but i’ve accepted it so let’s just move on, okay? i’m so excited to get back to school aren’t you?”

“yeah but, you don’t have to accept it. i’m still looking for a vampire cure to get you back to normal.”

“this is riverdale. vampires are normal here.” toni says with a slight chuckle and a smile.

cheryl still looks at her apprehensively but accepts it for now.

“fine. all that matters is that you’re back… for good?”

toni hesitates as she opens and closes her mouth a couple times.

“i... i should... let you get some sleep.” toni falters and she heads for the window but before she leaves she turns back around. “it  _ is _ really good to be back.” she smiles genuinely.

cheryl smiles back as she watches her climb back out the window. toni looks back at her once more before flying away and cheryl’s smile slowly falls.

-

“of course i’m glad she’s back but… i don’t know... she seemed… different.” cheryl’s says to kevin the next morning at school. “and she-”

but she is interrupted by kevin shooting some magic into her locker.

“kevin, come on, i’m trying to talk to you about something.”

“sorry, i was practicing my magic last night and i was trying to make chicken but i kept summoning-”

cheryl reaches into her locker and pulls out a baby chick. kevin pouts as he takes the chick from cheryl and gently pets it.

“okay, well focus, please. i’m really worried about her.”

“look, she’s probably still dealing with all that’s happened. she’ll need time to adjust.”

just then the sound of toni laughing grabs cheryl’s attention as she and fangs round the corner mid conversation, arms looped together.

“so the fledgling says, my dentist is the one with the cavities now!” toni says and she and fangs laugh as they come to a stop in front of cheryl and kevin.

“or, adjustment complete. trauma gone. vampires happy happy.” kevin says as the chick chirps and he pets it’s head. 

“look who i bumped into.” fangs smiles, so glad to have his best friend back. 

“welcome back chick?” kevin asks. 

“oh, kevin, so cute! that will be a yummy snack later.” toni days and cheryl and kevin both snap their heads towards her, their eyes going wide.

“what?” cheryl blurts out. 

“it’s a joke! cher, i don’t remember you being this serious.”

“i don’t remember you being this funny.” cheryl says as she shares a look with kevin. “but uh good one…” she chuckles nervously and kevin joins her just as the bell rings. 

“that’s first period. even immortals still have to go to class.” toni sighs. she winks at cheryl before she and fangs walk down the hallway. 

“you know i’m not usually a fan of full fledged undead blood-suckers, but she makes it look good.” kevin admires. 

cheryl rolls her eyes before looking down the hall longingly, her brows tilted in worry. 

-

“oh i almost forgot.” fangs starts as he and toni turn the corner. “now that you’re back i’m supposed to give you this. it’s from the council.” he pulls an envelope out of his backpack and hands it to toni. 

“the council?” toni tilts her head in confusion. 

“the vampire council. after reggie left, the v’s are less wild, more structured. kind of lame but the parties are so worth it… especially the snacks.” fangs explains as toni opens the envelopes and scans it. 

“initiation? orientation? i’m not joining any fang club!” she exclaims as he balls up the paper and throws it on the floor, receiving a gasp from fangs. 

“stop right there, young lady!” a middle aged man with glasses says as he walks up to the two, a stern look on his face. 

“excuse me? who are you?” toni asks as she crosses her arms. 

“your new vice principal, mr. honey. you may call me sir. and you are a young missy who doesn’t think twice about littering our hallways. 

“okay. i’ll think twice about it.” toni pauses as she looks up and rolls her eyes. “there. are we done? good.” toni sasses, fangs laughing beside her, before she goes to walk away. 

“not so fast! not until you make a deposit in the nearest trash can.”

a sinister smile grows on toni’s face. 

“whatever you say.”

and in a flash toni grabs the man, blurs to the nearest trash can and throws him inside, head first. 

and toni’s jaw drops and guilt immediately rises to her face as she realizes what she just did. 

“nooo…” fangs says as he runs up to her. 

“i don’t know what happened! i got angry, and then i couldn’t stop myself.” toni rushes out, her voice a pitch higher than usual. 

“duh! vampire urges are so much stronger than fledgling urges. don’t worry, i think i got this.” fangs says quietly before he blurs away. 

a second later he reappears with a confused kevin just as mr. honey pulls himself out of the trash can, with chocolate pudding on the sleeves of his suit, a coffee cup top stuck to his shoulder, and a banana peel hanging from his glasses. 

“young lady, you are not only expelled… you should be arrested.” mr. honey breathes out. 

“kevin, do that brainwave trick.” fangs says, a look of worry on his face. 

“wha- i- uh…  _ abovyu-memneth- obliviartic kaput!”  _ kevin stutters out and he sends a sparkly wave out of his hand and into mr. honey’s head. 

“i- you…” mr honey stutters out before he pauses with a confused expression on his face and shakes his head. 

the three teens stare at him awkwardly. 

“what are you three looking at? get back to class. now.” mr. honey snaps and waves them off before he walks away. 

-

during her free period toni walks down the hall as two men wearing black approach her. toni knew immediately who, or what, they are and she snaps her fangs out and hisses at them, and the men snap their fangs out and hiss back.

“going somewhere little one?” the shorter of the two vampires asks.

“now is not a good time! unless you’d enjoy watching your arms grow back!” toni snaps, causing them both to chuckle.

“see, this is the problem. vampire on vampire attacks. two more just last night. the same night  _ you _ came back to town. your brothers and sisters on the council are… concerned.” 

“what, just because we have the same teeth we’re family? no thanks.” toni scoffs as she brushes past them.

“fine. maybe the one we want is your little vampire hunter girlfriend.”

toni stops in her tracks and her face scrunches up in anger before she blurs back up to the vampires and hisses at them.

“leave her alone! leave me alone! unless you wanna see some vampire on vampire attack right now!” toni warns before she walks away again.

the taller vampire growls and chargers for her before the shorter one puts his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“forget her. let’s go after the mortal. the seer, not the magic one.” the shorter vampire says.

“good, ‘cause the magic one kinda freaks me out.” the taller vampire shrugs.

-

the bell rings and cheryl, archie and kevin walk out of their classroom mid conversation.

“i know how she feels. when i first got my powers i couldn’t deal. i got so mad once i wanted to bite the moon. but i didn’t, the moon’s safe… for now.” archie grumbles.

“look can we just... change the subject? please?” cheryl pleads with a sigh.

archie just shrugs as the three of them walk into the cafeteria, which is unusually packed. a large group of students are crowded around a tall man with spiky blonde hair and a super sharp jawline.

“wow! the rumor was true! it’s chic cooper from  _ dusk!”  _ archie gasps.

“i… can’t believe he’s here.” cheryl says in confusion, seeing as she’s the one who started the rumor.

“i can’t believe anyone cares! ooh i heart blood, sparkle and feel sad a lot… lame.” kevin scoffs. 

cheryl just rolls her eyes and approaches the movie star.

“hey, chic. cheryl blossom here, school newspaper. i’m… surprised you’re here.”

“yeah, me too. i didn’t even know about this until i saw it on twitter. my agent stopped calling me after the  _ dusk 4 musical  _ went…” he made a sound effect and as he dropped his hand like a downward slope, and then made an explosion sound. 

“well, this is riverdale. vampires will always be kind of big here.” 

suddenly, fangs appears behind cheryl and pulls her away from chic by her shoulder.

“some hoax! you were just trying to keep us apart!” fangs points an accusing finger at cheryl. “well tough! because chic is gonna spend some time with his number one fan.” fangs smirks as he steps closer to him. 

“okay…” chic smiles. “but after the signing. i still have a duty to my fans.”

“ _ dusk 2,  _ scene twenty eight. we’re vampire’s…” fangs starts as he grips chic by the lapels of his jacket and pulls him closer. “we take what we want.” 

fangs grips chic’s arm and pulls him away from all of the screaming students. 

“hey! back off! he’s mine!” fangs warns as he pulls chic away. 

“okay duskers!” kevin announces as he holds up the coffee cup that he snatched from chic. “who wants authentic guy from  _ dusk _ coffee cup, bidding starts at one hindred!” kevin rushes out as five or six girls squeal and raise their hands.

-

“so, where’s your driver?” fangs asks as he and chic walk through the school parking lot, their arms wrapped around each other's waists. 

“driver? i borrowed my mom's car. it’s parked across the street-”

“listen to me, chic. your  _ dusk  _ adventure is about to get real.” fangs smirks.

“oh, you’re one of those fans. well look, i can’t bite you. i did that once and i got sued.”

fangs ignores him as a smile grows on his face. he grips chic tighter and flies into the air causing him to scream in surprise.

-

“toni, i think your boy fangs is a little out of control.” cheryl says into her phone as she walks down the empty hallway.

“ _ i’m sure he’s fine. but you need to watch your back. i think some angry vampires are looking for you.” _

cheryl squints her eyes in confusion.

“what? no the duskers are mad at fangs for stealing chic away. i’m surprised he even showed up.” cheryl says as the two vampires who approached toni walk towards her. “well, here we go.”

“ _ chic? cheryl-” _

but before toni could say anything else, the shorter vampire snatches her phone and ends the call.

“hey! i know you’re mad about chic leaving but you don’t have to get rough.”

“things are about to get a whole lot rougher little hunter.” the shorter vampire says in a low voice before both vampires snap their fangs out and hiss at her.

“woah!” cheryl flinches back. “you’re r-real? look, i’m no hunter, but some of my friends are vampires. fangs. archie-”

“wait a minute…  _ archie’s  _ your friend. and you admit it? wow!” the taller vampire laughs.

“look. the council knows you’re in on the recent attacks and they want to see you suffer… in person!” the shorter one explains as they both step towards cheryl.

“hey! stand back!” cheryl shouts as she pulls a wooden pencil out of her pocket. “i don’t hunt vampires but i have staked in self defense.”

cheryl looks at the two vampires confusingly as both of them seem to be frozen in shock. so she decides to continue taunting. 

“yeah that’s right. this is a number two pencil. yeah,  _ two!  _ you know what that’s for? should i draw you a picture!” she shouts as she waves the pencil at them. but then she realizes that the vampires aren’t even looking at her but right past her, and her intimidating face falls. “th-there’s something behind me isn't there?”

cheryl gulps and turns around slowly. she grimaces at the green colored smoke circling towards her. she flinches back but the mist flows right past her and into the nose of the shorter vampire. his eyes turn green as he attacks the taller vampire. some of the green smoke seeps out of the shorter vampire and into the taller one and they both fight until they take each other down.

as soon as the fight is over toni blurs into the hallway and right next to cheryl.

“woah. looks like i’m not the only one with anger issues.” toni gasps.

“i didn’t do anything!” 

-

“why are they coming for cheryl?” kevin asks toni the following day at school.

“they think she’s after them. first, two vamps were attacked in her backyard, then two more tried to pick her up and they were taken out too. i’m really worried about her.”

“me too.” kevin sighs. “i promised them i’d hand cheryl over so they wouldn’t end me.” kevin blurts out and toni’s jaw drops.

“but she didn’t do anything!” she snaps and kevin raises his hands in surrender. “she said they were attacked by some smelly green mist?”

“smelly green mist? did cheryl’s mom make tacos again?” archie chuckles as he walks up to them. “by the way, is she here? the council wants me to bring her to justice… wherever that is.”

“ _ psst. it’s true. there was a green mist. i saw it.”  _ they hear cheryl’s muffled voice.

“that’s cheryl but i don’t see her.” toni says as she looks around.

“ _ i’m right here.”  _ they hear her say again. 

“wait! do you know what this means? i’ve perfected the invisibility spell without even trying!” kevin explains proudly before his smile falls. “or she’s in her locker.”

kevin walks up to her locker and bangs his fists on the door.

“ _ ow! yes, kevin, i’m in the locker. if the vamps come for me here at school, at least i’ve got backup.” _

“well, you can count on me!” archie smiles as he bangs his fist on cheryl’s locker.

“ _ ow! stop doing that!” _

“well, after i bring you to justice. do you know if that’s around here?” archie asks and kevin squints his eyes at him. 

“ _ i can’t help you, archie. i need time to prove i’m innocent. but the halls are full of fangs.” _

“those aren’t real vamps. apparently it’s  _ dusk  _ day at riverdale high, in honor of fangs’ new pet movie star.” toni walks closer and puts her hand on cheryl’s locker. “look, i’ve gotta go. just sit tight and don’t let the vampire bite.”

“ _ same to you. remember, bite your tongue not them.” _

toni just smiles as she taps on the locker before walking away.

“alright, so, locker girl. i get beat up all day because they blame you. you blame a green mist, and i bet the mist blames the unicorns.” kevin scoffs in disbelief. 

“ _ the mist was  _ **_real_ ** _ kevin. almost alive. and it had a smell. it smelled like… evil.” _

“evil? okay, now i’m intrigued.”

-

during lunch kevin ran home to get some vials he took from his grandma’s magic room. he met cheryl in the chemistry lab and pulled the vials out of his backpack. 

“see if any of these smell familiar.”

cheryl nods and picks up the first vial. she opens it and sniffs it, instantly grimacing at the scent. 

“disgusting… definitely not it.”

she picks up the second vial and sniffs it. 

“ew wow!” again she scrunches her face at the scent before her eyebrows raise. 

“wait.” she says as she sniffs it again. “this one is pretty close.”

“aha! sulfur, or to the necromancer, brimstone. i did my magic research. where there’s brimstone there’s black magic.”

“wow, can’t believe i’m saying this but way to go kev. now let’s figure out how to stop this thing.” cheryl says and the two high five before they head out of the classroom. 

-

kevin pulls his bike up to a stop in front of cheryl’s house. 

“cheryl! cheryyyyyl!” he yells out dramatically before he pulls his phone out of his pocket. he dials cheryl’s number and puts it up to his ear. 

“cheryl where are you!... oh great, i’ll be right over!... no don’t worry i won’t tell any  _ vampires  _ that you’re at the  _ library!”  _ he shouts. 

he puts his phone down and pretends to look away as two vampires that were staking out cheryl's house come out of their hiding spots and blur away.

“alright, the coast is clear.” he says just above a whisper into the phone. 

-

“ow! dammit archie!” cheryl groans as the redheaded boy drops her on her bedroom floor, wrapped up in a blanket. 

“oops. sorry.” he apologizes as he helps her up to her feet, 

cheryl rolls her eyes as she walks over to sit down in front of her computer. 

“okay, all clear! i doubled back and snuck in.” kevin announces as he enters her bedroom. “and i marked every spell that involves evil smoke, sulfur and violence.” he says as he opens up his spells book with a lot of tabs sticking out of it. 

“wow, that’s a lot of smoky violence.” archie says. 

“hence the name black magic and not nice sunny, smiley face magic.” kevin snaps sarcastically and archie just tilts his head at him. 

“woah guys, there’s been over a dozen disappearances in the last few weeks. and on almost all of them it says no recent picture.” cheryl explains. 

“so this magic mist attacks people who don’t own a camera!” archie says boldly. 

“or... a mist that attacks people who don’t show up on camera.” cheryl responds. 

“right… shy people.” archie states confidently. 

cheryl turns slowly to look at him with squinted eyes and the boy just shrugs. 

“no, archie, vampires.”

“ohhh.”

“hey hey, here, this must be it. _ inspira mortis. _ or the breath of death. whoever uses this can transform their anger or dark energies into a physical vapor that seeks out to destroy its intended target.” kevin reads from his spell book. 

“so that's why it ignored me.” cheryl gasps in realization. “it’s only going after vampires. we have to warn toni.” cheryl says as she quickly digs her phone out of her back pocket and clicks on her most recent contact. 

cheryl groans when she gets toni’s voicemail. 

“come on, toni! where are you?”

-

toni walks through a gate and looks up at an old abandoned building where fangs informed her the council is. she’s nervous but she’s doing this to protect cheryl. 

she stops in her tracks when a scent hits her nose and she turns around quickly, snaps her fangs out and hisses at the vampire that stood behind her. 

“going somewhere half-pint?” the older vampire asks. 

“let me through. i have to talk to the council about these vampire attacks before it’s too late. i swear, i’m not trying to hurt anyone.”

“too bad. ‘cause i am.” 

the vampire blurs up to toni and grabs her arm and bends it tightly behind her back. 

-

“okay, i think i found a way to fight the breath of death.” kevin’s announces. 

“oh-” archie raises his hand but cheryl interrupts him before he can speak. 

“and don’t say hold your noses.”

archie deflates as he lowers his hand. 

“ancient tribes used these type of bottles to lure the evil spirits away from people and trap them.” kevin explains. 

“so how do we do that?” cheryl asks. 

“any container can work. like this.” kevin says as he grabs the pencil holder off of cheryl’s desk and empties the contents to the floor. “as long as you put the right symbols on them and i say the right spell over it.”

“you, saying a correct spell. sure, this should be a piece of cake.” cheryl says sarcastically. 

kevin rolls his eyes but ignores her comment. 

“the hard part is the bait.”

“bait?”

“items from the spirits target.”

“well this mist is targeting vampires so put vampire stuff in it?” cheryl asks. 

“woah, what vampire stuff? not my internal organs, i need those.” archie says.

“have you used the bathroom recently?” kevin asks. 

archie looks at him then at the bottle then back at him before he whines and snatches the bottle out of his hands and leaves the room. 

while he goes to the bathroom cheryl tries to call toni again but gets her voicemail again. 

“toni’s still not answering.” cheryl sighs just as her phone rings again. she doesn’t even look at the name before she answers it. “toni?”

“ _ not quite.”  _ fangs’ deep voice comes through the phone. “ _ i know where she is though and it’s not good. the council put her on trial. two vamps just showed up to drag me to her hearing.” _

“a trial!? no, this is bad. they’re all in danger! where is it?”

“ _ the old mason lodge. i’d hurry if i were you.” _

-

toni paces on top of a red carpet, in front of a stand where three men and a blonde girl who looked her age but was probably a hundred years old sat. 

“you show no allegiance to your kind. you forfeit your rights and protection by conspiring with-”

“who cares who i conspire with?” toni interrupts one of the men speaking. “my friends aren’t your problem. you’re the ones who need their protection!”

“give her a break!” fangs shouts as he walks into the room with chic by his side and he stops right next to toni. “so she doesn’t come to meetings. she’s never been much of a joiner. she even quit the  _ dusk _ fan club when i was president.”

“your best friend did that? no way!” chic whispers. 

“sorry, babe, but it’s true. now shut up before you get eaten.” fangs whispers back. “toni’s always done her own thing. sometimes she’s not any fun. but she’s my best friend. she’s one of us now. and she’s no threat to us.”

“you may not be a threat, but your little stake-wielding friends are.” the blonde girl says as she stands from her seat and rounds the table. “deliver them to us as a sigh of loyalty. or, if you’d rather side with them you can accept our punishment on their behalf. but we will have blood; yours or theirs.”

toni balls her fists as she snaps her fangs out. 

“then come and get it princess ‘cause i’ve been itching for a fight all day.” toni says through clenched teeth as she steps towards the blonde. 

“let her go!” 

toni snaps her head around when she hears cheryl’s voice and her jaw drops as she, kevin and fangs enter the room.

“i’ve got this! why are you here?” toni asks. 

“i’m trying to protect you.” cheryl answers. 

“well i was trying to protect  _ you.”  _ toni shoots back. 

“well, we’re protecting you too.” kevin speaks up. 

“look, i didn’t touch your friends. they were attacked by a spell called the breath of death, and we know how to stop it.” cheryl directs towards the blonde girl. 

“true! they made me go in a jar!” archie adds, receiving a look from cheryl, kevin and toni. 

“quiet!” the blonde girl yells. “perhaps we owe these mortals a chance to prove their innocence.”

“wow, that’s… very reasonable. thank you.” cheryl smiles.

“i move the mortals to be devoured, now.” the blonde says as she moves to sit back at the table. 

“wh-what!? you can’t do that!” toni fumes. 

“how does that let us prove our innocence at all?” cheryl exclaims. 

“if the attacks continue after you’re gone, then i guess you were innocent! seems fair enough.” the vampire shrugs. 

“i totally disagree with that assessment!” kevin snaps as he holds up a holy water gun. 

“i guess i got my orientation after all. you taught me when to control myself and when not to!”

“toni wait!” cheryl jumps in and grabs toni by the shoulder before she could do anything. “you call yourself a council. don’t you have to take a vote?”

“fine. all in favor, show of hands.” 

the first two men raise their hands in agreement but the third man, whose eyes were green and green mist seeping out of his mouth, attacks the blonde girl, growling and snarling at her.

“kevin! kevin! the bottle!” cheryl shouts quickly. 

“get it off me! get it off me!” the blonde haired vampire screams as she holds back the other vampire trying to attack her. 

cheryl snatches the bottle from kevin and holds it towards the vampire possessed by the mist. 

the mist starts to seep out of his mouth but uses its host to charge at cheryl. 

she backs up and trips over her feet, falling to the ground, spilling the contents of it on herself. 

“oh that’s bad… and gross…” kevin scrunches his face up as the green smoke starts to crawl up cheryl's body. 

“cheryl, are you okay?” toni says as she drops to her knees next to her. 

“toni.” cheryl chokes out before the mist seeps into her mouth and nose. 

cheryl breathes in heavenly as her eyes turn green and she attacks toni. the two of them stand as toni tries to fight cheryl off of her, not wanting to attack her so she doesn’t hurt her. 

“what do we do!?” toni shouts. 

“destroy her! we command it!” the blonde vampire yells. 

“where the bottle?” kevin shouts as she searches the floor for the bottle. 

he spots it and quickly drops to his knees and refills it with the spilled contents. 

“archie! it’s still missing something!” kevin rushes out as he runs towards the redheaded boy. 

“i can't  _ go,  _ now!” archie shouts in response.

kevin thinks for a second before ripping out a piece of his hair. 

“ow! my hair!” archie pouts as he rubs his head. 

kevin throws the hair into the bottle and points it towards cheryl. 

“ _ secantos delthorum recantos elthor!”  _ kevin shouts.

the bottle starts to glow from the inside as cheryl falls to the ground. kevin runs over to stand in front of her and holds the bottle steady. cheryl screams as the green mist escapes her and flies into the bottle. once it’s all inside kevin quickly closes the top with a sigh of relief. 

“gotcha! anti vampire mist anyone?” kevin asks smugly as he flips the bottle in his hand. 

“still mad at me for defending the mortals who just saved your asses.” toni scowls. 

“fangs was right. you  _ are  _ no fun.” the blonde vampire scoffs before releasing a sigh. “fine. you’re free to go.”

“thank you. that’s more like it.” toni says with a firm nod. she helps cheryl up and wraps her arm around her waist as the group walks towards the exit. 

“stop!” the blonde vampire suddenly shouts and the group turns to look at her. “before you go… i want chic’s autograph… f-for a friend.” 

the group all share awkward glances.

“vampire awkward…” kevin sing-songs. 

-

“okay you guys, your mom and i will be home from dancing at eleven. no staying up late and no scary movies.” clifford points at jason as he walks down the hallway towards the front door, cheryl and toni in tow. “oh and none of that laser saber thing. last time you broke a vase.”

“i know dad. toni’s in charge.” jason huffs.

“yep. i promise, it’s all good.” toni assures him. 

“well, it is good to have you back toni. you all have a fun night.” clifford says as he leaves the house and heads to the car where penelope was waiting for him. 

an hour later, with jason asleep on the far end of the couch, cheryl and toni decide to turn on a scary movie.

it’s been silent for awhile, but it was kind of awkward, still a lingering tension in the air. it takes cheryl half way through the movie to finally work up the courage to say what she’s been wanting to say. 

“look” she says suddenly and toni turns to look at her. “i know things are different now, and… if you feel like you need to move on… well, i understand.”

toni stares at her for a second and a smile grows on her face. she reaches for cheryl’s hand and rubs her thumb over her knuckles. 

“i appreciate that. but, i like it right here. this is where i want to be right now.” toni says as she squeezes cheryl’s hand.

“good, because you have no idea how much i’ve missed you.”

“i’ve really missed you too.”

the two stare at each other for a moment before cheryl drops her eyes down to toni’s lips. toni takes the cue and she starts to lean in slowly. cheryl meets her half way and their foreheads bump against each other before toni tilts her head and captures cheryl’s lips in a soft, lingering kiss.

she pulls away slowly only to lean in again; pulls away and leans in again. it progresses to a soft, slow make out as cheryl brings her hands up to cup toni’s cheeks, while toni rests her hand on cheryl’s knee. 

“i love you, toni.” cheryl mumbles against toni’s lips. 

“i love you too, cher.”

_ how did we go three weeks without this?  _ they both were thinking. 

they continue to kiss until they are interrupted by jason mumbling and turning over in his sleep. they quickly pull away and look at the boy before giggling quietly. 

“maybe we shouldn’t make out while my little brother is sleeping three feet away from us.” cheryl chuckles. 

“agreed. besides, we’ll have plenty of time for more of that later.” toni smirks before she grabs cheryl's hand and throws it around her shoulder. she intertwines their fingers as they lean back against the couch.

their movie goes to a commercial and a breaking story from  _ f news  _ comes on. 

“hey look, it’s chic.” toni says as the two of them give their attention to the tv screen. 

“ _ they’re real! vampires are real! they can fly! and look, i have a picture of my vampire boyfriend.”  _ chic says frantically and the screen shows the images from chic's phone of him and fangs, although it just looks like chic has his arm wrapped around nothing. 

“ _ sources say the struggling actor is currently receiving treatment.” _

“poor guy. we really freaked him out.” toni chuckles. 

“you know what freaks me out?” cheryl asks and toni leans her head back to look at cheryl. “if that mist is so out of kevin’s league, who is powerful enough to conjure it up?”

“whoever it is… they must really hate vampires.”

“well… maybe they just haven’t met the right ones yet.” cheryl shrugs with a crooked smile as a blush rises to her cheeks. 

toni smiles back at her and leans in to press a short kiss to her lips before she snuggles back against her and faces the tv. 

no, their lives were not normal and would probably never be normal again. but they know that as long as they have each other, all the craziness they go through is worth it. 

  
  
  



End file.
